The Space Between Stars
by LainBay
Summary: AU: What would happen if the gang were living in space? And the shikon jewel was...say, the plans for a ship? Betrayal and treachery and sweeping drama! ik,rs,ms plz note:IS RATED R!
1. Chapter 1: Between the Stars

I feel that like in all really good stories, exposition is the key. Therefore, we will have exposition, rising action, more rising action...and multiple climaxes. ^^;; eheh heh, no pun–err, "fun" intended. And, of course, falling action and a resolution. It's just going to take us a while to get there... So bear with me, will you?  
  
Okay, so here's the premise: It's sort of like the series about Acorna, by Anne McCaffrey, with star wars, Inheritor, and all the other sci-fi I've ever read mixed in (asimov, etc.). Kagome gets found by Inu, and all sorts of havoc ensues. Rin gets found by Fluffy. Kouga + Naraku = BAD. Aw, shit, just read it, ok? I hate summaries, they're usually mind numbing drivel that gives you no idea what the story is about. So, READ!!!  
  
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The stars spiraled outward from the gigantic mass of heat, movement, life. Here, in the space between galaxies, time moved strangely, and fate stranger yet.   
  
Inuyasha watched indifferently as the stars sped by, dancing through the viewplate of the cargo ore hauler. It had been fifty long years. Fifty years, since he had given up his place as one of the heirs to one of the richest interstellular travel companies, Western Starlands Inc. After the strange death of his mother under suspicious circumstances, and his father in a space pirate duel, he had fled into hiding, trusting his father's oldest friend to maintain the family "fortune."  
  
He had seen and had enough of the death, violence and disorder caused by his pirate brother, Sesshoumaru, to last him to his death.   
  
Why did his brother hate his father so much for marrying his mother and becoming a respectable intrastellular transport magnate? He wished father's second, Higurashi, the best of luck with the whole mess. Becoming an ore hauler was not his idea of a great way to hide from his psychotic brother, and from his father's rival, Naraku, but it was probably the least likely thing that anyone would think of him doing. Who would WANT to live on the outer rim, where strength was the key to survival, and people killed just for fun? Life was hard, and everyone was tough, indifferent, and detached. It was a survival mechanism, out among the farthest star systems of the galaxies rim, where individualism was the absolute creed.  
  
Grimacing once at the memories, he quickly yanked his eyes away from the streaks of stars, and checked the navicomputer. Good, good, all systems were green. He proceeded to check all the other systems as well, the ore holders, the collector, the grappling arms. He breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going well, this last run. He had a full load of some very valuable bauxite ore, as well as some other minerals that he'd had to stake out a claim for. He'd registered the stake too.  
  
It was a good thing that the Tetsusaiga was a good solid ship, and wouldn't need any extensive repairs this time. It was a lucky break. He'd bought, no, won the ship in a hand of poker, and had decided to make his escape with it, never guessing that it would become his home and refuge from humanity when the world went to shit. It was a good ship, an ex-claim pirate's ship, and had a truly amazing (and illegal) weapons array, as well as backup computers, and many other handy features. It could come in real handy when defending a claim, or even against another ore pirate. Strangely enough, it had been named for a rusty old sword that hung on the wall above the ships nameplate by the same name.  
  
Predictably, life on the rim had changed him a lot. He was less social, and definitely coarse from his interactions with other miners. Most days, dealing with his partners, Sango, and the lecherous Miroku, he was best described as surly, or better yet, completely rude and blunt. He was tall for a spacer, but not as tall as his girlish brother, with a compact, well-muscled frame that often earned him unwanted attention from bar flies of the opposite gender at the spaceports where he sold his ores. Also, because of his parents, he was a half-aug, which meant that he had a longer lifespan and other heightened senses as well as greater strength. No-one knew about his nanite augumentations but Sango and Miroku, and his surly reputation ensured that no-one else would ever get close enough to find out. His full-aug brother knew, but it was extremely unlikely that he'd ever find Inuyasha, or care enough about Inu to seek him out other than to kill him as a rival for power of Sesshoumaru's pirate group.  
  
Glancing again at the board, he frowned. What the hell? When had that subspace distress beacon started? Why the hell hadn't he noticed it? "Stupid, shit. Shoulda been watching." He muttered. Growling to himself, his hand moved to tell the computer to ignore the signal and keep flying. It was, after all, none of his business, and probably hazardous to his health to do so. He growled again, remembering the last time he stopped, getting involved with that stupid manipulative bitch, Kikyo. Her ship had been blown to bits, and she'd been floating oh-so-innocently in an escape pod, "waiting" to be rescued, with a blaster pistol and a knife. She'd rigged the convincing trap, hoping to snare some other person, and when she got him, she'd tried every way she could to seduce, cheat, trick and lie to him... just so she could get his ship and use it to get her revenge against Naraku.  
  
Luckily for him she hadn't counted on the backup systems that had kept him from being shoved out of the airlock into space and dying. Because of his augs, he would have been frozen in hibernation until someone picked him up or he fell into the gravity well of a sun. The ship, instead, had snagged him with a grappling arm, preventing him from floating away, and later enabled him to regain control. *KEH* he thought.*I still was able to boot that bitch off my ship...lucky break again!* Not realizing, of course that the ship's recognition system would only allow others on the ship if they shared his DNA pattern or he was with them. The stardrive had shut itself down, and so had the engines, until he had gotten back inside.  
  
Shut off, the beacon indicator ceased to flash on his viewscreen.   
  
He stared at where it had been. *Stupid idiots, don't they know better than to get stuck out here? No one will help them, it's too likely they're a pirate. 'Sides, if you're out here, you take care of yourself, and nobody else.*  
  
He hesitated then. *What if it's one of my drinking buddies, who got in trouble and set of the alarm by accident. Ha! If it's Miroku, I'm gonna rescue him and then hold it over his ass every time I see the bozou! I mean, shit, it can't hurt to check, right? Maybe I'll get a reward. That's sure help me pay for any future overhauls I need...*  
  
Before he could suppress the impulse, he pressed the button quickly, almost too late, overshooting the beacon a bit, just in case. He'd learned his lesson from last time. Grimacing, he sighed. *Well, since I've stopped now, I've gotta at least check, even if it's nothing.*  
  
*****  
  
Kagome grimaced. This had to be the worst situation ever. As the eldest daugher of Karatsu Higurashi, she was obligated to concede to her father's wishes and marry whoever he decreed, even if the man was as black hearted a bastard on the inside and as charming on the outside as any space pirate. "Naraku!" She spat the word like an epithet. That bastard had betrayed them. They were going to get killed or worse– raped. She wasn't a complete idiot. She knew how hard life was on the outer rim. She'd lived here for five years with a miko named kaede, learning martial arts and training her mind and body. In those five years, she'd seen quite a bit of the darker side of humanity, and its better side too; courage, compassion, hope.   
  
She gripped her gun tighter. One thing was for sure, her shooting skills were a definite help. She'd encountered three of Kouga's thugs and shot them (this was amazing to her, that she could actually shoot someone!) in order to draw them away from her sister Rin, in the auxiliary bridge. She hoped her distraction was working, since everyone else seemed to be dead or unable to help at all. Her job was to clear a way to the escape pod deck and grab one for herself, saving another for her sister. Wiping sweat from her brow, she peeked around the corner, and seeing it all clear, sprinted to the next junction, using the recessed pressure doorways for cover. *Almost there, almost there...wait! Shit, there's one of them in the escape room. Now what do I do?*  
  
Shoving her gun into the back of her belt, she walked into the doorway, in a sudden impulse, holding her hands up. "Who the hell are you people? What do you think you're doing?" The man, startled, and called out, "Ginta-kun, lookit what we got here!" "What, Haku-kun?" asked another voice as another man came into view. *Shit! I thought there was only one! Now what do I do? How do I get rid of them!* Her brain was not cooperating with her feet, because she was flying forward, dealing a stunning blow to one thug's head, and snap kicking the other into the wall. They crumpled unconscious. Kagome blinked. "That was way to easy." Or maybe she was just too used to fighting. Oh well.  
  
Quckily, she opened one of the pods and stored her small sack of gear inside, checking to make sure that all was intact. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hall. *Oh no!* Quickly swinging the pod door shut, she prayed that no-one would notice the pod was occupied. Peeping through the hole, she watched as another man came in, checking on the other two men, and then talking into a radio. "Boss, Haku and Ginta are out. I'm gonna go search for the other one. One of them's shut herself into an escape pod." Kagome's blood ran cold. He knew she was there! Sinking down, she managed to set the door lock on the pod and then smash the controls, preventing him from entering. He tried the door lock, banging several times before giving up and dragging the other two unconscious men with him. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Too early. the ship's public address system began to bellow as the ship shook even harder than the earlier barrages. "WARNING, THE SHIP HAS BEEN BREACHED, THE SHIP HAS BEEN BREACHED. ALL CREW ARE ADVISED AT THIS TIME TO ENTER THE LIFE PODS!" In the silence following the announcement, alarms wailed, and Kagome's pod mad an audible click, and her stomach dropped out from under her as the ship's computer spoke pleasantly. "Please prepare for escape pod automatic launch. All pods currently loaded will now be launched. Standby." Her eyes widened in horror. If all the pods launched, then Rin wouldn't have a way of getting off the ship! Kagome had the shikon plans to defeat Naraku and keep him from destroying her father's family, but doubted anyone would guess that they were stored in the jems of her necklace. But Rin! This was a complete disaster. It was too late though! With a final jerk, her stomach fell out from under her in despair in the zero gee. Her comm squawked, set open "Captain Kouga, I'm gathering the pods now..." She was jerked abruptly back into the cushions as something arrested her inertia, causing her to black out. "NO! We've lost them, sir!" The world went black again, and spun in and out of reality disturbingly. Another voice, coarser and darker "Damn you, you stupid shit ore hauler! I'll get you for that!"  
  
*****  
  
**flashback**  
  
Rin stared at the screen, raising her chin. "I'm not afraid of you. You can't attack us anyway, wolfman. We're in dog territory." Desperately trying to hide her fear, she knew that her sister was probably still alive somewhere on the ship–hopefully she had gotten to one of the escape pods in her space-suit. Damn Naraku for double-crossing them like that! He had been greasily pleasant, arranging a marriage with the Higurashi family, pointing out that their businesses would mesh well, and that they could dominate the interstellar transport routes. *Damn daddy for not seeing that he was an evil lying cheat. I hope that I can bluff him until help comes. I'm the only one still alive on this thing* She'd set off the distress signal as soon as she had realized that they were not where they were supposed to be. Only treachery could be at work, if the computer were right, and they really were that far out near the rim!  
  
Naraku had somehow reset their navicomp, so that they ended up at a totally different location from where the rendevous for the marriage was. *Did he know Kouga's reputation for raping and despoiling young women? I bet that's why...he must have tipped off Kouga that we were going to be here, and with us presumably "dead" or missing or even dishonored, he could take over as daddy's heir in the company...and smooth over our shame... But the computer says this is inutaisho's territory. Maybe If I offer him –sesshou-something?– enough money, he'll help us. Damn, DAMN, Kagome, please be alright!* Naraku had also reset the weapons systems, so they were unable to defend themselves in time. Kouga's men had boarded the ship, but she and Kagome had managed to run and elude capture. She'd gotten pretty banged up in the process though. Blinking back tears, she thought of all the others, dead within seconds of being boarded.  
  
She clenched her jaw, willing herself to glare at the evil bastard on the screen, despite her hands shaking. Kouga sneered. "Really, Well, That's funny little girl. I can't wait to see what I'll think of to do to you, once I get my hands on you!" The rest of his speech was cut off as missiles pounded into the hull, destroying even more of the ship and taking out the communications array. A warning light lit up, and alarms began to blare: "WARNING, THE SHIP HAS BEEN BREACHED, THE SHIP HAS BEEN BREACHED. ALL CREW ARE ADVISED AT THIS TIME TO ENTER THE LIFE PODS!" Terrified and witless, she slapped the screen away and ran from the bridge, leaping into the turbolift, and praying for the doors to close faster. Prying the doors open, she ran faster. *I hope that all of them haven't been jettisoned! I forgot about the automatic launch program when the ship is about to be completely destroyed!* She had completely forgotten about the intruders on the ship. One loomed suddenly out of the darkness, smashing her over the head in a blow that would have killed an ordinary human. Rin's augumented nanites quickly recovered, and she staggered to her feet, surprizing the man. She managed to slip past him before stumbling into the door of the escape pod bay. Frantically slapping the door toggle open, she entered and realized that there was only one pod left. It was tiny and meant for a child of five, but she crammed herself in. A light lit up. "This pod is jammed. This pod is jammed. Please choose another." Snarling, she hit the console hard. A crunching sound was heard, then there was a giant jerk and she was floating weightless.  
  
How long she was there, she didn't know, except when SOMETHING caught her with a solid bang and a bump, then, she was just as suddenly released and tumbled over and over. The climate controls were flickering madly–something had hit the outside of the pod. That and her earlier pounding meant that it was getting colder, and harder to breathe. Her last thoughts were a desperate prayer that someone, somewhere would find her in the darkness of space. Where was Kagome? Wouldn't someone answer their distress signal?? She didn't want to die alone...  
  
**end flashback** 


	2. Chapter 2: The Man with the Golden Eyes

Ha-HA! I have now posted one chapter. Amazing...I think I shall do an obscene happy dance now. *dances around crazily* WHEW! Ahhh, I feel so much better. So, anyone want to give me a review? I'd luuuv ya forevers. Yesh. Anywhoo, must go now to dish doom! (I SO hate doing the dishes in the morning).  
  
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*Idiotic.* That was the only thing he could think. *why would any idiot willingly stray into the inutaisho— MY territory?* Did not the fools realize that the only ships he would not attack within his territory of space where those that belonged to his late father's company? It was not just wholly out of respect or a highly developed sense of honor that he didn't; the ships were well armed–to the teeth, and strangely enough, he still received inheritance from the family business. *Western Starlands. HA!* came his other mutinous thought. He had never bothered to tell anyone that he received the inheritance, preferring to save it away, just in case. *If my idiot brother would only join with me in the search for the Tetsusaiga, father's last ship, then I could eliminate Naraku with ease! It holds the secret to his downfall! Damn that stupid hanyou-aug!*  
  
His thoughts were cut short by his second in command, an ugly toad-like alien named Jaken. Jaken had his uses; he could belch fire and kill people by combining the chemicals found in the glands of his throat. Unfortunately, he also had a bizarre and disgusting penchant for collecting the heads of his fallen enemies and attaching them as trophies to a ritual war staff that he carried.  
  
"Milord Captain, shall we loot the ships?" Sesshoumaru growled in response. "Who said anything about looting, fool? I just said that we were going to investigate the disturbance, and eliminate it if necessary." He grimaced again, glaring at the toad. "Finish up the coordinates, and we'll de-cloak."  
  
Jaken hurridly whirled around, yelling at the nearest pirate crewmember, "Quick, do as milord says, you infernal maggot!" The pirate glared at him, earning a bonk from his staff, but quickly moved to raise the viewscreen displaying the area, as well as feeding the computer coordinates so that the ship came out of hyperspace. Shifting the screen view deftly to the right, the entire panorama unfolded before his eyes. Turning slowly over was the leaking burning wreck of a small luxury cruiser, spewing atmosphere and chunks of itself into the vacuum of space. Nearby, hovering over the crippled craft, was the unmistakable shape of one of Kouga's wolf ships. In HIS territory. Another of the wolf ships hovered nearby, with the main crest of Kouga on it. Off in the distance, his scanners detected another ship, an ore hauler or looter, hesitating at the edges of the conflict.  
  
He abruptly crushed the hand rest of his chair, digging his clawed nails into it. Of all the people he had thought to see, he had not expected his worst enemy. As the leader of the "space dogs," he had earned a reputation for ruthlessness and brilliance, as well as for being emotionless and unmerciful to any he knew. He was, despite this, a great and inspiring leader, despite the abject fear and obedience that he instilled in his men. He never left a man behind, and always ensured that his followers died warrior's deaths.* Intolerable. I will crush that stupid wolf like the wimp he is.* Saving the survivors of the ship did not occur to him at all.   
  
Ordering his guns trained on the two ships, he ordered his men to fire, a rare bloodthirsty smile crossing his face, to the shuddered fear of his weaponsmaster. When he smiled, men died. Abruptly, his communications officer whispered tentatively, "S-sir? The um, the-wolfman is transmitting...." Crossing the deck and seizing the man with one hand around his throat, he lifted him bodily from the floor. "And just what is that little shit saying." Sesshoumaru hissed angrily at the distraction, his satisfaction in destroying his enemy spoiled temporarily. "heeeuuurk, essss traaaaaa-urk! tuuuuuu-urk!" Sesshoumaru dropped the man to the floor. "Spit it out, worm." "He'ssayingthatthekillishisan'ifyouwannachallengehimhe'sgonnakickurass!!" The man blurted out as fast as he possibly good. Sesshoumaru, digesting the information that his sensitive ears had heard, nodded once. "Inform that piece of shit that he will not succeed. Keep firing, and I want you to get whatever it is that he wants off that ship! There's no way I'd let him have anything that he wanted in MY territory." Stalking back to his chair, he re-seated himself. "Sir, he's breaking off and fleeing. He says he'll kick your ass later, he has what he came for." He cursed mentally, his face never altering expression. "Fire upon him, make sure that the pods he picked up are not hit. I want them. I don't want him taking ANYTHING out of our territory."  
  
At those words, missiles streaked out, crashing into the smaller wolf ship, causing it to release several emergency pods that had obviously been collected from the luxury ship. Strangely enough, these were collected neatly by a large, ugly ore hauler that appeared rapidly on the scene. Kouga's ship rolled, strafing it with laser fire, and the ship simply rolled, revealing it's belly and launching a large load of useless space rocks at the wolf ship, scattering the fire and crippling the wolf ship further. One pod was lost in the scuffle, but it was ignored by Sesshoumaru, who ignored the hauler. Let the fool salvage the people, he would proceed with looting the ship. Besides, ore haulers were a dangerous and crafty lot. They had little regard for anyone's life, and just from the looks of the ship, it could be carrying any sort of weaponry, even the equivalent of a gigantic battleship's guns. By rolling to it's solid, well protected belly, the ore hauler missed the last tiny pod, but had used it's momentum to launch the rocks, keeping it's real weaponry from detection and protecting itself. Sesshoumaru smiled internally. *Now that hauler would be a worthy adversary if we were ever to fight. He's got brains and balls.*  
  
The comm beeped. A gruff voice came on. "I've gat mah stuff. Yew c'n take whatchuu want. Don' even thinkabout 'ttackin' me." Sesshoumaru quirked one eyebrow upward. "I wouldn't dream of it, old timer. Now get lost before I change my mind and destroy you." A snort was his only reply, and the hauler immediately accelerated away from the scene. Without a flicker of emotion, he ordered his men. "I want everything of value on that ship. Get a team on it to seal it off, and we'll tow it back to base." Jaken nodded nervously. "Oh, and get that last pod. I want to see what could be so important about it." Scuttling out, Jaken quickly headed to appease his captain.  
  
****  
  
Rad tromped into the airlock. "Whatta pain. Ya think fluffy-sama'd really care about some stupid lifepod? I bet there's no-one alive in it anyways." Trigger shrugged. "Who cares, what the boss wants, he gets. I ain't stupid enough to argue. Hurry up, lets run decontamination, and then we'll let 'is magesty know what's goin' on." Quickly, the two pirates completed their task, comm-ing the bridge. "Tell Sesshoumaru-sama we got that pod, and the ship's in the main bay– we jettisoned it's engine cores to keep it from blowin' up. Ya wanna come see what'sin it?" The cold voice that replied was that of Sesshoumaru himself, "I will be there in five minutes. I expect you to be armed and presentable looking. You will also inform sickbay to be on standby. and you will be able to explain why it took you the whole trip back to base to inform me of your status." The men shivered. "Y-yes SIR!" Their only reply was the click of the comm.  
  
Five minutes later, Sesshoumaru appeared, trailed by his stunted sidekick. "Open the pod." were the only words he spoke. He didn't even glance at the ship. A slight hiss, and it opened, revealing a young woman, crammed into the tiny damaged pod, which had really been meant for a child. Sesshomaru looked her over, noting the blue tinge to her lips, and her lack of breathing. *Hypothermia, a bad concussion, lots of bruises and possible oxygen deprivation* His men quickly leaped forward and scanned her. "No weapons sir! Shall we take her to sickbay?" he gave the man a withering look. "I could have told you that. She has no steel smell anywhere and it is fairly evident, even to incompetents like you that she is badly injured. Do not presume to know what I wish. I will take her myself. Jaken." The toad hurried forward. "Hai, Sesshoumaru-Sama!" "These two will be assigned to sanitary duct cleaning for their insolence. See that they report there for their next shift. Dismissed."  
  
With that, he picked up the unconscious girl, slung her over one arm, and proceeded to sickbay. *This is a pickle that I've gotten myself into. That yacht is definitely one of father's... I could tell from one glance, so now I'm saddled with an added burden; getting rid of the girl, or at least sending her off before she knows what happened, or thinks to accuse this Sesshoumaru of attacking her ship. And how the hell do I explain to my men that the sip may not be looted, but only returned to it's original destination* His eyes narrowed fractionally, causing a terrified young pirate to flatten himself to the wall as his captain passed, glowering and in a very bad mood. *Shit*  
  
*****  
  
Something warm was pressed into her stomach, and a pair of *–clawed?!–* hands were holding her legs firmly, as her hands swayed gently toward the floor. Whoever it was was tall and had beautiful waist-length white hair. She stiffened abruptly. *Could it be–OooohOW!* Her head pounded with agony, and pain rushed over her body like a surge of electricity. She managed a slight inaudible moan. The person carrying her paused suddenly, and then abruptly, they were flying along the corridor, and the world went black again.  
  
*****  
  
She had moaned and awoken. He had heard her heartbeat thud uncertainly as she drew shaky breaths. Then she'd stiffened suddenly, moaned in pain, which made him pause, startled, and then gone limp again. Despite himself, he was impressed. *For some spoiled rich girl, she's a fighter. I'd better hurry and get her to sickbay* Abruptly, he was flying forward, and stepped into the sickbay, startling the doctors there. "See that she is cared for. If she dies without me having interrogated her, I will be sure to make examples of your sorry hides." With that, he quickly left her on the table and stalked out, concentrating on his other problem. What to do about the damn ship?  
  
*****  
  
Rin awoke to beeping machines and nervous, whispered voices. "Here he comes, don't make him angry whatever you do! Don't even open your mouth– remember what happened the last time he got angry??" Puzzled, she opened her eyes, and found herself looking into the coldest face she'd ever seen. And the most beautiful pair of golden eyes to go along with the incredibly beautiful, cold face. His voice was like a god, deep and powerful, and at the same time, cold and inflectionless. "Leave. I have certain things I wish to discuss with my captive." She heard a scuffling sound, but couldn't move her head, due to the frame it was strapped to. Instead, she flicked her eyes to the other side, and saw a flicker of movement toward the door. "FASTER!" he roared. She flinched, without realizing it.  
  
His eyes flicked back to her. She had soft brown eyes, deep, and gentle. He seated himself. "What is your name. And why, exactly, are you in this area of space? I was given to understand that the Western Starlands did not operate in this sector of space." Rin managed a squeak out of her dry throat. His golden stare was amazingly intimidating. Gathering her wits despite her pounding head, she managed in a slow deliberately dignified tone, "My name is Rin and my sister and I were betrayed by Naraku and attacked by Kouga. We were being transported for a trade meeting Naraku, and our computer was sabotaged. I was attacked by one of the boarders before I could get to the lifepods. I didn't make it in time to get a regular pod, so I had to use whatever was handy." She deliberately didn't mention that the "trade" would have been one of marriage, in the feudal sense. Somehow she was so intimidated that she forgot about her fear of anyone bigger than her touching her. *That wolf man, he almost killed me. This guy seems different, but I'm not sure how.* She smiled sadly, a captivating, dazzling smile, if she had known. But she had no concept how lovely she was.  
  
He did. He stared at her for a second and then ordered her imperiously. "Sleep Rin. Recover, and I will see what I can find out about this." With that he rose abruptly from her bedside and strode out, leaving her confused and dazed. Who the heck WAS that man?  
  
He on the other hand, was having trouble controlling his breathing. Once outside, he took a deep breath and ordered the doctors back in to take care of her. *SHE's the daughter of Higurashi? The younger daughter? It can't be– she's so young. And the name. It's got to be a coincidence. Rin IS a common Japanese name for girls, isn't it? Damn. She's good looking too. How am I going to keep my men in line? I can barely control MYSELF. I don't think this has happened to me EVER. Damnable control. Where is it when I really need it?* He let out another snarl and kept walking.  
  
She, on the other hand, closed her eyes, and let the drugs they had given her take over, her last conscious thoughts of her sister, Kagome, and the fascinating man who had stared at her with golden yellow eyes.  
  
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Ummm, y'all know that this is my original work, right? And that Rumiko Takahashi has total control over the licensing of the Inuyasha characters...Even though I might cry rivers, they'll never be mine. So, don't sue a poor, poverty stricken college student... Oh, and more will be forthcoming. I do my best writing at night, but I think I'll post during the day. 


	3. Chapter 3: Tough Enough?

Hee Hee! Once again, I update. Ahhh, the joy. So, read and review, everyone!  
  
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Inuyasha blinked at the scene. There were two armed warships attacking a small, defenseless luxury space yacht. Both warships were emblazoned with the emblem of Kouga's space wolves. Despite himself, he growled. "Stupid wimpy wolf bastard, picking on those people." Suddenly his proximity alarms went off. "What the FUCK!?! MORE of the bastards??" But the sensors screamed that it was really someone else, the last person he would like to see, in fact. His eyes widened. "Sesshoumaru's space dogs?! Shit!! I'm so fucking screwed." He hesistated on the edge of the battlefield, waiting to see what would happen. *I can't afford to step in and lose my cargo–I'll never be able to make it up in time to pay my spaceport bills!* The wolf ships sent more missiles into the badly crippled ship, prompting small lifepods to shoot out. The dog ships, using the same stealth technology that his ship used, began their attack on Kouga's ships, even as the wolves collected the pods. *Not fair! Nobody's getting those pods except ME!* Kouga's ships accelerated away, when more fire spat from the dog ships, blasting into the grappling fields that had collected the pods.  
  
Thinking quickly, Inuyasha activated his extra ore collector to snag the pods while at the same time rotating his ship so its thick reinforced belly would face Kouga's ship. There was a crackle of static, and a snarling voice swore at him over the com. "Damn you, you stupid shit ore hauler! I'll get you for that!" Tetsusaiga shuddered under an assault, but held firm as Inuyasha kept accelerating away. He breathed a small sigh of relief when Kouga's ships made the jump to hyperspace, with the Space Dogs follwing in hot pursuit.  
  
* I think I'd better get out of here while I still can. Now, to get the space dogs to ignore me...* He toggled his com and spoke roughly in a thick miners accent, just in case someone recognized his voice. "I've gat mah stuff. Yew c'n take whatchuu want. Don'chuu even thinkabout 'ttackin' me." He could almost imagine Sesshoumaru's response: a quirked eyebrow and a distainful twist of lips. "I wouldn't dream of it, old timer. Now get lost before I change my mind and destroy you." Inuyasha snorted and punched the buttons, taking advantage of Sesshoumaru's declaration, before he could change his mind and attack. *Move, you old fucking useless rustbucket! Get me outta here, before I regret stopping!*  
  
Once safely back in the calm of hyperspace, he tilted his head. *I guess I should check out what's in the pods.* Unbuckling himself, he stretched, and began searching for a quick out of the way place he could examine his new "cargo." *I'm too damn softhearted. I just know it's gonna get me killed someday. Hope whoever it is has money so that they can give me a reward or something* Punching a few buttons to take him out of hyper next to a large red sun and put him into an automatic approach path for spaceport docking, he ambled back to retrieve his precious cargo. *Perhaps I should dock near Miroku and have Sango come over at the Tolderon spaceport. They at least can back me up...Hmmm. Yeah, good idea.* Reaching one of his cargo bays, he began to direct the servo-machines to offload the cargo he wanted to trade. This took him several hours.  
  
******  
  
There was a hissing of air into the pod and voices that woke Kagome up. "Do you think she's still alive in there?" "She WHO?!?! Who said it was a she, you stupid lecher?" "Well, the console's broken, but it indicates that the heat pattern is consistent with a female." "KEH! You Stupid bouzou, it could be a sentient cabbage or a bratty kid for all I care! Now Shuttup! Don't distract me!." Blinking, she reached quickly for her bag, grabbing her gun. *Oh no! Oh no! I must be on the pirate ship!* Came her thought, her fuzzy recollections of events before she blacked out keeping her tensed in total terror and anticipation. *I've got to escape! I've got to get away!* Desperately she considered her options. *There's two against one. I haven't a chance!*  
  
The Pod lid clicked and swung open. She found herself staring at the muzzle of a blaster, with a suspicious pair of golden eyes glaring at her over it. Whatever she had expected, it certainly wasn't this. "KEH! Look! Hey wait— YOU BITCH! Do you think you're going to be able to pull that shit on me again! I'm not stupid, I won't fall for your lies a second time!!" The other voice spoke. "Inuyasha, that's no way to treat a lady." "LADY?!?! I'll have you know this bitch is a lying slut! I knew I shoulda shoved you out the airlock when I hadda chance, Kikyo!!" Confused, a part of her brain mutinied and her lips moved in a scathing reply. "You must be really stupid then, because my name's Kagome. Thats KA- GO-ME!" Shoving the gun barrel out of her face, she sat up, looking around. Ignoring the startled golden-eyed, white-haired man.  
  
It was a large bay, perhaps for cargo, since it was well used and dented here and there. It had an air of age and dignity, despite its scruffy appearance. The pressure locks were well maintained, however, and there were crates of some sort of minerals strapped to the walls and floor. One wall was a giant door, a indicator of a cargo hold, and the other was a smaller access door into presumably the main body of the ship. That door was open.  
  
A third, feminine voice came yelling from the doorway, making her pause. "I told you two idiots not to open the pod without me! What if she gets the wrong ide—Ah! Oh, you're awake!" The "Miroku" one turned to the dark haired woman who entered the room. "Sango, yell at Inuyasha, he's the impulsive one. I was only here to be sure that she would perhaps bear..." She rolled her eyes and smacked him on the head, interrupting. "Don't you dare ask her to bear your child, you pervert." She presented herself to Kagome, sticking out a hand and smiling. "I'm Sango. These two idiots are Inuyasha and Miroku. You're on the ore hauler Tetsusaiga. Inu-chan rescued you after your ship blew."  
  
The golden-eyed man shot her a glare and turned his back. "KEH!...Inu-CHAN. " Sango leaned closer, helping Kagome out of the pod. "Don't worry about him, he's alright. Just rough around the edges and really grumpy. He's got a soft heart though." At that, Inuyasha turned around, shot her another glare and muttered "...bitch!" clearly enough. Kagome frowned. "W-where are we? I mean, I need to tell my family that I'm ok, and I need to find my sister! Rin, oh my god, I forgot!! She was on the ship too! Did you manage to get her pod too, Jii-san??"  
  
Frantically she turned to the white-haired man. At first glance, she had thought he was old because of the unusual color of his hair, but then she realized he was young, perhaps a few years older than her. He appeared to be of japanese ancestry like herself, with high cheekbones and smooth ageless features. His hair was tied back messily in a ratty leather tie, and he wore old holy clothes and patched spaceboots. A slight blush colored his pale cheeks. In short, despite his clothes, Rin would have romantically labeled him a "bishounen." But then of course, he opened his mouth and spoiled it all. "Keh, bitch. I only saw one pod with life signs in it, so that's the one I snagged from the raiders. The other pods were all empty, or the people were dead inside of them. So I just let those ones go after I arrived here, stupid."  
  
She couldn't help it, her blood boiled at being called such a thing by some uncouth, overbearing, arrogant idiot. And then, to be told he'd just dumped the bodies of her friends with out any regard for their families!! "Boy, that makes you sound real intelligent, you arrogant jerk! How dare you insult me! You don't even know me." He interrupted with a snarl, "And I don't WANNA, you stupid human BITCH!" With that, he stomped out of the cargo bay, yelling over his shoulder. "I leave that stupid wench to you guys. I can't stand the SMELL of her!"  
  
Somehow offended by this comment as well, Kagome leapt after him, with Sango quickly grasping her arm. "Wait, don't. You look like someone else he used to know, so he's being a prick. Just ignore him for now, if you can. Here, um, I guess we could try to find you some help getting back to wherever you came from... Would that be good?" Kagome grimaced and managed tearfully, "I, I need to find my sister and see if she's still alive before I contact my parents. If she's dead, then the whole family will be devastated. Besides, If I contacted my parents now...." She halted abruptly, thinking quickly. *I can't contact them, Naraku might find out we're still alive and might kill them and then try to control us...since we're supposedly "engaged"...I can't take that chance, I'll have to hide until I can get the Shikon plans to the builders at Knondoran. And I don't know if I can really trust these guys. What if they're minions of Naraku, trying to play with my head?? What if they want to ransom me!!* She finished lamely. "I just...can't!"  
  
Sango nodded, seeming to understand her hesitation. "That's ok. Is there any information that you can give us about your sister? Her name and stuff like that?" She led Kagome toward the airlock door. Miroku followed close behind. They were almost to the door when Kagome felt someone grab her ass. "KYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" She screamed and turned, punching him in the head. He fell to the ground with a thump, and Sango shot him an annoyed glare. "Stupid baka! You should know better. C'mon, leave him there, lets go. Whatta perv." Grabbing Kagome's elbow they walked quickly down the hall. Talking. The white-haired Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen. "We'll go to the mess, if that's ok with you. I'm a little hungry, and Inu has really great food prep systems." Kagome nodded, and off they went.  
  
*****  
  
Later....  
  
Sango nodded her head. "So, to get this straight, your fiancé betrayed you and your sister, and is probably going to kill you and your parents just so he can take over your company. Sounds like a real nice guy." Kagome nodded. "I don't know what to do. I can't trust anyone." "Damn right, bitch. I wouldn't trust you either." Startled, Kagome jumped, whipping her head around to see a disgruntled Inuyasha. "Why did you bring her here, Sango? I don't feed freeloaders." Shooting to her feet, she stomped over to him as he leaned against the doorframe. "For YOUR information, I'm not that stupid Kikyo person, I'm KAGOME. Can't you get that fact into your thick skull!?" His face darkened and he stepped closer to her. "I know just who you are, you stupid Bitch." He towered over her, leaning precipitously closer to breath deeply of her scent with his enhanced nose. He could hear her heart beat increase and flutter with uncertainty. *Lavender? And citrus?* An uncertain look flickered across his face. "She ISN'T Kikyo. Who...who IS she?" He snapped the second part brusquely to Sango, raising his face away from the girl. *She's shorter than me...* Came his random thought.  
  
The fire in her eyes captured his attention. "I'm Kagome." Deciding it was fun to unsettle her, he nonchalantly wandered over to the food prep machines and made himself a meal: ramen. "So, girl, do you have a LAST NAME??" This earned him another glare from both women, and Kagome walked back to the table with Sango. "It's...Himura. Himura Kagome." She lied quickly. He could smell the lie, but didn't press her on it. He could also sense that she was afraid of something. Not necessarily him, but someone else learning of her name and...doing something to her? He frowned. "Huh." And sat down next to her, ignoring her discomfort, and stuffing the ramen into his mouth as quickly as possible. "Where's Miroku? And have you decided where the wench is going to stay?" He asked Sango, disregarding *Ka-go-me's* fuming.  
  
Sango rolled her eyes at his table manners and reminded herself that the man had a stomach of iron and could probably eat just as happily with rotting corpses surrounding him. "No, but I think your ship is the best. It has the most room, and it would be easiest. She wouldn't have to move any of her stuff." He growled then. "She doesn't have any stuff in the first place, so she can move just as easily to your ship." Sango frowned at him again. "Don't be a prick. You'll get along just fine. Besides, I have to go now...cargo to unload. Be nice, Inuyasha, help her out." "...I already DID..." he muttered. That pissed Kagome off completely. "Hey, who said I needed your help anyways?! I can take care of myself!" Inuyasha sneered. "Shaddup. I'll help you and that's final, bitch. Just siddown." Opening and closing her mouth in outrage, she sat. He hid his grin. *easily defeated.*  
  
She wasn't. Opening her mouth she snapped sharply, "How do I know I can trust you, I mean, you're an ore miner. I'm not stupid, I've lived out here on the rim a couple years. Your type isn't very reliable. What assurances can you give me other than your word?" He almost choked on his ramen, she noticed with satisfaction. *I startled him. Good. I'm not some stupid rich chit.* He stood abruptly, and towered over her again. "Are you insulting my honor? I will have you know that I have never broken my word. I swear to you on my...my mother's GRAVE. There, satisfied? Geeze." He turned away, cleaning his bowl and throwing the food into the recycler. The bowl and chopsticks were put away. *Why do I feel like I've been sucker-punched in the gut? Maybe because I hate being reminded of my mother... and she just did. Damnit!* He turned toward the door.  
  
A small hand on his shoulder stopped him from his growling, and held him rooted in place, unable to leave. "I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you like that, it's just that, well...I don't know what to do." Her touch was making his stomach do strange contortions inside him, and he wondered, *how long has it been since a woman touched me?* Disgusted with himself, he edged to the side, causing her hand to drop, and not looking her in the face, said quickly in a gruff tone (to cover his confusion), "I'll give you a tour. If you're gonna be around for a while, I don't want to have to haul your ass out of trouble all the time. Hopefully you'll be marginally useful." Quickly he headed out the door and down the corridor ignoring her squeak of outrage, and tilted his head slightly to hear her footsteps following him. He almost breathed a sigh of relief *Good, she's cooperating. She's too fiery for her own good.*  
  
******  
  
"...and that's the last of it. Think you've got everything?" he grinned, eyeing her. "Yes." She replied shortly. "I studied ship mechanics and design at the Fullbright Academy." He simply raised an eyebrow and decided a little teasing would be amusing. "Did they teach you how to extract ore from a five-hundred ton asteroid?" She tilted her head up and said honestly, "No, but I'm sure I can learn quickly." The smirk on his face was almost...cute. His eyes were dancing, and he smirked even more. "Riiiight." It was going to be a very interesting few months.  
  
"You do know that we'll be out there for a while, mining and searching for your sister. It'll be pretty dangerous too. I just wanted to warn you, we'll probably be attacked a couple times." "That's fine. I didn't expect this to be easy." Was her only reply. *Determined to show me she's tough enough, isn't she?*  
  
She was. 


	4. Chapter 4: Pained Awakening

I know in the Manga that Inuyasha is two characters (in japanese, thus two words), but I'm just going to type it as one, since it makes it faster (and easier to read, i think). So, sorry if you don't like it... Here is chapter three. I don't think anyone is reading this story anyhow...I wish someone would. and would REVIEW!!!  
  
*dodges flying bricks, pigs, and umbrellas*  
  
Ok! Ok! Here is the fic already!!!  
  
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Jolted awake by pain, Rin stared at the ceiling and the technician that was checking her injuries. She decided to see if her tongue would cooperate with her again, without the amazingly intimidating presence of the man with golden eyes and silver hair. "H-howw in..jured am I?" she managed to breathe out in pain. It was hard to talk without her head pounding dully along with her pulse in pain. The medical tech, startled, responded by bending over her and examining her. He lifted her medical chart from the other end of the bed. "Hypothermia, a bad concussion, lots of bruises and possible oxygen deprivation is what it says. You're lucky you made it through that. Not many normal humans would have. I'm surprised you don't have augumentations." He frowned then. "Lord Sesshoumaru wants you back on your feet as soon as possible. You'd better lie still while I treat your contusions. I've gotten rid of the hypothermia, I think. I'll try to fix your concussion next."  
  
She lay still, not noticing when the air in the room seemed to sink several degrees. The tech did, nervously. A cold voice spoke then, "Didn't I say that the Lord wanted her on her feet as soon as possible? Why is she not fully recovered yet?" The voice held an implied threat for the tech's incompetence. Without knowing why, Rin quickly defended the man. "It's not his fault I'm not recovering very quickly. I don't have augumentations, and he IS doing his best." This was returned with a sneer. "Hurry up, tech man, the man in charge wants to see her on her feet." Managing to lift her head, she viewed the small green alien with the large grotesquely decorated staff standing in the doorway. Somehow, the other man with the golden eyes had not evoked such a cold aura within a room. He had commanded respect and fear at the same time, with mezmerizing intensity.   
  
Rin realized that she must have been out for a long time while the tech worked on her. She closed her eyes and managed, "couldd youu m-make him go ah-wayy?" to the tech. The man shot her a frightened look and then quickly added something to her injector unit before she could insult the alien further. "This is for your own good, you know....sleep, I'll take care of the rest." was the final whisper she heard before drifting once more into unconsciousness.   
  
***  
  
Days, hours, minutes, seconds later, she opened her eyes to an entirely new room. *flat...on floor. GET UP, Rin...gosh, the world– OOOh! It's tilting!* She finally sat upright, resting on her knees and looked around. It was simple and at the same time elegant, with everything neatly stored or placed on the floor. The floor was covered in traditional Japanese tatami, and the walls were bare of ornaments, except their covering of intricately painted shoji screens. *This place looks almost like a home on earth...except I know that it's a ship from the metal ceiling.* Rin noted absently. On one wall nearer the door hung a single scroll, with graceful characters painted upon it. Or at least, what she thought was the door. It too was covered by a sliding shoji screen. The rest of the room was empty except for a low table with a tea set and what appeared to be a folded futon in one corner.  
  
*Great. Now I'm in feudal Japan? Weird decorating tastes, though it is very...peaceful here.* It became less peaceful, however, when the shoji door smacked open and the golden eyed man entered in a rush, his face absent of expression but his voice implying cold death. "WHERE did you put her!?! In my private quarters??? I did not tell you to do that! BAKALERU!!" The angry words stopped suddenly as his eyes suddenly pinpointed the intrusion that had been thrust upon his private quarters. His expression did not so much as flicker. The frantic medical technician could be heard pleading, "Please sir, I'm not sure that she'd be safe from Jaken after she insulted him like that..." The silence spread like a pool over the room. Rin found it abruptly hard to breathe again. He stared at her, and then spoke again, the technician trembling in fear. "Get out. I will handle this."  
  
Silently he walked to the table and seated himself. Confused, Rin followed, seating herself nervously opposite him. He spoke again, his voice inflectionless and empty. "Your name is Rin Higurashi, is it not? Where is your sister?" Rin's guilt and fear rose up to choke her. This man knew who she was! Would she be ransomed? Tortured? Beaten and raped to death at the hands of pirates!?! Her heartbeat raced faster in her panic.  
  
He could hear it, and see how her eyes dilated in fear. Quickly he spoke. "Rin. You will be safe here. None shall harm you." A red blush of shame crept across her cheeks at how easily he had read her expression– Kagome wouldn't have been as easily read she thought, not knowing of his exceptional senses. Quickly dropping her eyes, she responded, "Yes. My-My sister, is she alright?" "I have no idea. Nor have I decided what I shall do with you. You need a room, and something to do until I decide." She blinked, startled. "What about this room? Isn't it being used?" There was another silence and his eyes bored into hers. "This is my room. You will require another. And I shall speak with Jaken." In truth, he had already decided what to do with her. She could not go back yet. It was not safe, since she had already been attacked once. She would remain with him until he could find a way to smuggle her home without losing face with his men. Jaken would survive, and die if he disobeyed. He almost smiled at the thought of killing the alien.  
  
He rose then, gracefully, and she sighed in envy of his grace and then scrambled to her feet, feeling once again like a gangly child. His fluid grace was more akin to her sister, not herself. She had never been trained to be so graceful in formal events, and was instead taught fighting and self defense, and let run wild. She followed, still feeling somewhat stunned, and listened to the man order others to fix her a room, find her clothes, and show her to where the mess was. She still hadn't the faintest clue what his name was. How frustrating!  
  
****  
  
Seshoumaru glanced at her as they left the room. *Hmm. Trained in the martial arts. Look how she moves. With a few more years on her, she will be an exceptional lady...GAH! Stop thinking about that! At least you don't have to worry about her defending herself.* His face didn't flicker in the slightest. Quickly, he ordered his men to find her a room near his, along with clothes to wear from her ship and someone to show her around. *The mess hall. She must eat to recover. I wonder why she has no augumentations? Her family is rich enough to afford them.* He restrained himself from asking.  
  
He remembered receiving his.   
  
It had involved lots of screaming and pain, despite his bloodlines. LOTS of screaming, crying, and pain. And he had only been a baby. It had been long, long ago, before his mother died, and when augumentation was still experimental. He frowned. Maybe it was better that she had not received it, even though now days the procedure was painless and none remembered it afterwards. She was going to be a challenge though. Despite her weaknesses, she was exceptionally strong for a normal human– and a woman. She had miko blood too, that was certain, though it was dormant. He could smell it on her.  
  
Perhaps he should not be smelling her to closely, but her subtle scent appealed to his nose. Fresh, and light like freesia. *Damn my bloody nose. I'd better get going, and have Aun and Uhn see what skills she has in the morning. Can't have her running around causing havoc with my men.* This, ignoring the fact that she had already caused a disturbance in his neat, uncomplicated life as a pirate captain.  
  
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Is everyone happy? read and review...PLEASE! or just send me an email...I'd be happy with an email...or IM me...or send me a message via ESP~!  
  
*runs and hides in dark corner* 


	5. Chapter 5: Maneuvers

Yes, the fic switches between points of view...Blah blah blah...READ!!  
  
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Kagome grumbled to herself as she cleaned out the inductor ducts. *Asshole. He just makes me do all the hard work, and then smirks when I complain. I won't give him the satisfaction! It's not that I ever had to do this on any other type of ship. I'm more used to fixing liners and rebuilding racing skiffs planetside or in asteroid orbit, not in null-gee!* The Tetsusaiga had been built with engines and ducts from an old carrack-class cruiser, which meant that it was faster and stronger than any other ore hauler out there. Unfortunately, it also meant that it had more carbon fusing in the inductors, since it took in more into its large engines. The intake shields had been disabled to give it more thrust. *Definitely not legal modifications. Reminds me of the "rice rockets" of 21st century earth.* There was a sudden crackle of static. "Get back in here, girl. There's someone approaching on the scopes, and I don't wanna hafta blast you into a crispy chunk on my engine intake if I hafta maneuver. It takes too long to clean out the inductors." Concerned, Kagome replied, "Is is a claim pirate?" "Don't know. GET OUTTA THERE NOW. I'm gonna move this tub." "Nice to know you're concerned about me." Muttered Kagome, irritated. She was unaware that Inuyasha had heard every word.  
  
They had been out in the rim for three months, mining and searching desperately for Rin and the remains of the Youkai-Dono liner. So far, it had been a fruitless search, since nothing was left of the liner, nor anything else that could have been a part of it. Whoever had taken the ship had been thorough in combing the area of the attack so that no traces had been left. Even Inuyasha had to agree. Kagome thought that it was Kouga and Naraku, but Inuyasha had other ideas.*It must have been my bastard of a half brother. Shit, I hope the girl hurries. I don't like the looks of this guy.*  
  
Abruptly, a warning light flashed. The incoming ship had powered missiles. *SHIT. This is not good.* Desperately, he raised the shields and using his altitude jets, managed to rotate the ship so the solid belly was facing the attacker. Ignoring Kagome's shouted protest on the internal speakers, as she was slammed against the inside curved wall of the outer inductor duct. He snarled impatiently, and brought his weapons online instantly.  
  
Kagome switched off her headset, desperately hoping that she'd be ok and that she wouldn't prove a fatal distraction to Inuyasah. She managed to use the maglocks on her suit to crawl her way to the outer hull, out of the duct, and then began to crawl over the rusty pitted hull to the access airlock. Taking a second, she slapped anxiously at the entrance panel and waited anxiously, her heart pumping in time with the red light that flashed rapidly above the door. Inside Inuyasha absently smacked at the control to open the airlock, relieved that he could now fire up the engines and let the incoming ship know he had fangs—beyond the literal ones he had in his mouth.  
  
After cycling through decontamination and peeling off the helmet of her suit, Kagome raced to the bridge. "Took you long enough." was Inuyasha's only reply as she burst through the lock and sat down. He proceeded to growl a threatening warning into the open comm. "Piss off, 'less you wanna taste my guns, pirate. This here's MY claim." The voice that growled over the speakers sent a chill down Kagome's spine. "You are the ore hauler that saved the pods from the Youkai-Dono. yes? I will not fire on you provided that you give me all the information you have about those pods." Inuyasha shot Kagome a look. "The ones I picked up were all dead, so I salvaged the ores from them and dumped the rest in the nearest sun." He mouthed the words to Kagome, "bounty hunter." "In that case, I will only take your ores and leave you alive to gather more, pitiful miner." Inuyasha snarled and replied "You're in for a surprise, pirate-hunter!"  
  
Multiple guns engaged, as the pirate tried unsuccessfully to defeat the Tetsusaiga. With the combined abilities of Kagome and Inuyasha, and a few trusty guns, the pirate turned tail and eventually ran, leaking atmosphere and swearing curses. His retreat was further aided by the appearance of the Hirakotsu, Sango's ship from the asteroid field, which added it's guns to their own barrage. They were hailed. "Hey guys! I haven't seen you in a while! How are you doing? Do you need any help?" "Nah." Inuyasha grunted. "That loser was just leaving." Inwardly, he was pleased to see Sango. Many of the outer rim ore haulers had been known to band together to defend their claims, and he was glad of the added support of Sango...and her guns.  
  
Keeping his guard up, he maneuvered the ship back to its original location, engaging the mining apparatus on the asteroid. He didn't say a word of thanks. Instead, he grunted out, "We found some good stuff." He didn't mention that it had actually been Kagome who had found it. He didn't really want to admit how helpful she was to have around. Her training as an old earth "miko" had enabled her to use her ESP to sense if an asteroid was worth mining more accurately than the dangerous test probes that he had to take by hand before having her around. Her ship background was useful too, since she knew how to handle herself in space, and around other rimmers. She also knew a thing or two about engines, which was helpful when he got too angry with the engines and started pounding on them. She somehow knew how to scare him back into sense with her scary scowl. *Like a volcano, she is.* He mused wryly. He was so distracted that he almost missed the rest of Sango's reply. "That's great. Hey, Kagome, I found some stuff out about those pirates that you mentioned when I checked my ships logs and asked around a bit. If you'll let me, Inu, I'll just come on over and show you."  
  
Grumbling, he agreed and signed off. This was going to be interesting indeed. He already had his suspicions on what Sango had discovered. "I wonder when that lecherous bozou will show up?" He grouched, swiveling his seat and getting up to head for the airlock to let Sango in. He was surprised that Kagome beat him to the door.  
  
Sango's news was not good. "As far as I can tell, the only other people who might have picked up your sister's pod were the Pirate Dogs." Inuyasha muttered under his breath disgustedly, "Keh! I coulda tol'ja that, bitch." Quickly he raised his voice to make sure that neither of them had heard his rude suggestion. "So, where's the bozou, Sango? I thought he always hangs around you." The look this earned him caused him to leap behind a startled Kagome with fearful "errk!"  
  
Sango managed to catch herself before she beat him into a bloody pulp for mentioning Miroku. "He's at the Rimshot, ogling some new woman there." The frigid tone of her voice invited no response, which struck Inuyasha as odd. Sure, the bozou was a pervert and light-fingered when it came to other people's valuables, but what had made Sango so angry at him that she left his back unprotected at the Rimshot? He resolved that when the bauxite ore in the asteroid tapped out in a couple of days, he'd convince Kagome and Sango to go back to the Rimshot and perhaps gather more information. And, see what the heck Miroku had done, so he could beat him over the head for being a class-a type idiot.  
  
The Rimshot was a notable smugglers outpost and trading center for only the desperate denziens of the outer rim. Run by an old pirate turned refuel robber, it was the service center for thousands of miners, pirates, and other scum of the galaxy. It had been built of an old planetoid-class asteroid, hollowed out inside and built up on the surface as well. It had turned into a flourishing colony of the down-and-out spacers of the galaxy, and order was kept by an iron-fisted old coot named Kiyonneh. Not even the space dogs or wolves crossed the man. The planetoid had enough firepower to destroy an entire fleet of warships on its own. (AN: Yaaay! Deathstar LIVES!) Inuyasha was well known there, since Kiyonneh owed him a favor or two for helping to start the Rimshot venture and designing much of the outpost.  
  
*****  
  
Kagome had been surprised several times by Inuyasha. When he was not reminded that he wasn't supposed to be nice to her, he was actually...nice. Not to mention intriguing. Who would have thought that doggy boy (as she had nicknamed him for the funny ears on his head) would like 21st century jazz, rap and 20th century folk and even classical earth music. He even collected music from many of the other species of the galaxy. Not to mention that his collection of electronic books was amazing; it bridged many languages and cultures, and reflected a burning desire for knowledge. When she asked him about it, he sullenly replied that he liked books, and then proceeded to avoid her for several days.  
  
It wasn't just his tastes in music and books that fascinated her. It was his ability to run the large ship on his own for years and never have any major accidents– that she could tell. It was really a two or five person ship, but he ran it and even checked all the numbers for the navicomputer in his head, often more accurately than the computer. He was like a complex math puzzle, created by the ancient Chinese of earth: mysterious, enigmatic and surly. Add that on to the fact that he was amazingly strong and you had one annoying shipmate. Annoying, rude, surly, potty-mouthed, honorable, grouchy, finicky, peculiar shipmate. He even mined on his own.  
  
He wouldn't speak of his past, instead preferring to needle her about being a spoiled rich girl. This was ignored by her. She had caught him often in one of the holds, practicing with bamboo swords the ancient art of kendo. He never said much about it, but she gathered that he would tell her what he was doing in time. He also enjoyed piping music over the internal comm system while working, and enjoyed arguing with her over the music selection for the day. She found that she enjoyed a rapper by the name of "eminem" and he liked "cowboy bebop." Their arguments had almost become rountine, even entertaining. If he was avoiding her, he'd work the "night shift" and then leave her instructions for the "day shift." He'd retreat to the safety of his room by the time that she awoke.  
  
The only time that he was really sociable was when he was sitting in the captains chair, staring at the stars after a full day's work. He would be calmly contemplative then, and would absentmindedly speak to her in a decent fashion. Right now though, they were both in the bridge, aimed toward the place that Inuyasha had called the "Rimshot." He had grumbled something about needing new infusers for the onboard hydroponics tanks, but Kagome knew that had nothing to do with the reason for his insistence on going to the Rimshot. The way he had silently disappeared after talking with Sango about Miroku's absence and his sudden insistence that he needed to trade in the ore for new infusers after the asteroid was exhausted indicated this as well. The fact that he was dragging the angry Sango along attested to the fact that he wasn't as stupid as he looked. *He probably wants to see what's going on with Miroku*  
  
She was not wrong.  
  
*****  
  
Inuyasha hoped that whatever foolishness the bozou had gotten himself into this time would not prove to be fatal to Miroku. Not that the idiot had died yet, but the number of times Sango had smacked him for groping her was almost enough to seriously damage whatever small amount of brains that Miroku'd had in the first place. An amazingly resilient idiot, Miroku was.  
  
And that somehow led him to another thought. Kagome. He'd never had another person in his ship willingly for a long period of time. Except for Kikyo, but he'd gotten rid of that bitch just as soon as he'd figured out what a backstabbing creature she was. He growled under his breath. Now, the girl sitting in the crew chair beside him was a whole other thing. She was useful, intelligent, independent, and could cook. He'd been happy with his usual ramen, but she'd taken to programming the replicators with her favorite meals, and he'd had to try them. Sneakily, of course, so she wouldn't know that he approved of her tastes. That, and she'd bugged him about his book collection and his music. She had actually LIKED them. That made him nervous, and he had avoided her for a while after that. Nobody liked him. It was a strange, alien sensation.  
  
She was persistent, however, and managed to coax him back to his normal shifts, unless they had another argument that prompted him to avoid her. He'd never admit he was wrong, despite her generosity in forgiving him. She didn't ask him about his background either, despite her obvious curiosity about his heritage and his ears. (Which she termed "cute" to his horrified disgust). She knew how to scare the shit out of him too. They'd had a couple of close calls with claim pirates, and once he'd had to allow the pirates on the ship before blowing them out of existence by opening all of the ship to the vacuum. She'd been almost swept away before he had grabbed hold of her with one had, the other digging desperately to a bulkhead. *Too many close calls. I should be more careful...but she's always so damned capable and stubborn.*  
  
He didn't recognize the equal stubbornness in himself, and wouldn't admit that he was starting to admire her. His respect for her had definitely grown over the last couple of weeks. She could hold her own with him, and that alone was worthy of respect. No matter how rude he got, she could yell at him or argue with him until he stomped off, angry at how she was right, or until he calmed down. She could be damned scary too. He'd slowly managed to pry a general gist of her past from her, since she liked to talk to him in the evenings while he rested in his captain's chair. Actually, their conversations had become a pleasant ritual that he didn't dream of breaking, except when she was steamed. *And steamed she gets. Really easily. Well, we're almost there. I'd better get ready for docking.*  
  
Quickly, he reached for his seat restraints, and trusting the autopilot to handle the rest, headed for the weapons locker. *My sword, and a few blasters, this time, I think. That should be enough for Mitty.* This decided he ambled past a startled Kagome, and headed out the door, to return in a few minutes as the hyperspace warning light flashed. He dumped a gun in her lap, and quickly reseated himself, answering hails as soon as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. "This is Inuyasha. I wanna berth. I got stuff to trade." An equally gruff voice replied, "We got one for you. Slave your navicomp to ours or we'll fire." Inuyasha growled something obscene in the verpine language and complied.  
  
As soon as the magnetic pressure locks closed on the ship anchoring it in place, he headed back toward the main hatch, advising Kagome over his shoulder. "C'mon. Bring your gun. I want you to meet Mitty." With that, he strode out.  
  
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I feel so unloved. Zero reviews. I'm going to keep writing this story though. Hope that someone, somewhere appreciates it...  
  
Maybe bob the angry flower will.  
  
oooh, ooooh, hey, has anyone else read the new harry potter book?!?! IT IS SOO COOL! it actually has ANGST! YES, it DOES! Wow. Go read it, i promise it's worth it. Eventhough I am now peniless from buying it.  
  
Hmmm. I need sugar. COOKIE TIME!  
  
=D Latz! 


	6. Chapter 6: Hello Mitty!

Blah blah. Read! Review! No throwing of any projectile vomit!!!  
  
(eheh heh ^^;;)  
  
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Grim fingers tensed in anticipation...the docking tube was almost fully extended...almost there! Soon, soon he would have the last laugh over Inuyasha. Then with a clang, the mag seals locked, and he readied himself.  
  
Inuyasha was ready too. He was expecting Mitty's imminent (and usual) attempt to take over his ship. Honestly, the old coot was a bizarre one. *Heh heh, wait till Kagome sees him!* He had been the one who created the ship, though he would not reveal to Inuyasha whom he had made it for. He preferred to insist that it was only fitting for Inuyasha to "wield" the Tetsusaiga, though he often forgot and tried to take it away. Inuyasha figured that it was a sort of returning ritual for the old geezer– a way to say hello and welcome Inuyasha. Strange though the method might be...  
  
Mitty was actually not his real name. He had been named Toutosai, but was nicknamed after Walter Mitty, a singularly absent-minded and daydreaming character in some old english story. Despite his goofiness, he was one of the best mechanics in the entire outer rim. And he was very picky on who he'd help fix ships and things, or who he'd make things for. The space dogs didn't get his business, neither did the wolves. Inuyasha had the unfortunate luck of having him insist on fixing the Tetsusaiga and let no one else touch it (besides Inuyasha). He had also been taught to forge swords as his first job, and when he moved off his home planet (some say he was chucked off) he took his skills with him and applied them in new ways.  
  
Kagome, on the other hand, was mystified. Why had Inuyasha given her a gun? What the heck did they need it for? They'd arrived at the spaceport, hadn't they? It wasn't THAT dangerous, was it? Mysterious.  
  
Inuyasha shot her a sideways glance. "Ready?" He smirked. Inuyasha slapped the controls and the door irised open. Mitty sprang forward, training his guns on them. With a cackle, he exclaimed, "I've got you! I've got YOOUUU!" Inu grinned and slapped the plate again, making the door iris shut suddenly, causing Mitty to splat into it on the other side, judging by the sound and his momentum towards them. Punching the button again, he opened the door again, noticing that Kagome's gun had been instantly trained on Mitty as soon as the man had launched himself at them.   
  
The door revealed a very confused Mitty rubbing a large bump on his head and sitting on the floor of the tube. "Huh? Ohhh, you're back, yes, it looks like the funny one is back. Hmmm, and what have you done to my Tetsusaiga, eh? Look at those nicks!" Leaping to his feet, Mitty leaped through the doorway as Inuyasha quickly put a hand out to prevent a frazzled Kagome from shooting him. Chuckling, he said, "C'mon, lets leave him to his fun. He'll be walking around for hours, fixing things and muttering." Without any further words, he grabbed the handholds and pulled himself into the station.  
  
Kagome was left to decide whether she would put her gun away or follow. Her mouth opened to protest, then quickly closed with a snap. *Damn. That was freakin' weird.* She finally stowed her gun for easy access and followed Inuyasha, but not after a delay of a minute or two where her stunned brain began to process things again and her heartbeat slowed to a regular rhythm. She'd been rather startled, after all.  
  
Once she emerged from the tube, she looked around. Inuyasha was already talking to a big slightly-portly man with fiery red hair on his balding head, a large belt strapped around his chest and waist, and a large orange tabby that was sitting next to them. The cat came to the mans knee, and since the man was at least 6'2", it was a LARGE cat indeed. It also had green eyes, which she noted as she moved tentatively closer to them. The man had one brown eye, one hazel, which were also trained on her as she got closer.  
  
****  
  
Climbing out of the tube, Inuyasha made a beeline for the nearest communicator recessed into the wall of the hangar room. He'd have to contact Kiyonneh and see if the man was busy. Before he could get to a communicator though, he heard a yell "Ahoy there, space rat! Where d'ye think yer goin'?" He grinned and turned around. "Hey there, Ki! Where's that blasted cat? I'm meaning to beat him at Go again. Didja get rid of that mangy thing?" The man simply grinned like a pirate, the scar on his cheek wrinkling in his smile lines. "Heh! Nah. Max'd stuff me outta an airlock iff'n I tried. Say– Heardja picked up a crew. Heard she was good lookin' too. Got a name, does she?" His cat, Max the terrible, quickly bounced from behind him to sharpen his claws a bit on Inuyasha's leg and then settled down after a quick ear scratching, next to Kiyonneh.  
  
It was at that point that Kagome emerged from the docking tube warily. Inuyasha didn't turn around, but Kiyonneh raised an eyebrow. "That her? She looks a right practical one. Ain't she the former apprentice miko of Kaede-baba? Heard she's a strong one. Now...what was her last name again?" Max regarded her calmly, and simply said, "Rrrrowrrr." They both heard him clearly. **pretty lady-mate...inuyasha good choice...smells good** Shooting the cat a glare, Inuyasha turned faintly pink and turned quickly to hide it, snapping at Kagome in his discomfort. "Took ya long enough, wench. What kept ya?" Max simply walked over, sniffed her delicately and proceeded to almost tip her over by rubbing against her legs in approval. **yup...smell good..good scratches** As she reached down to scratch his ears a trifle nervously.  
  
"Don' mind Max. He's jus' sayin' he likes ya. Kharnian temple cat, he is. Smart as blazes, annoyin' as hell." He ignored the cat's glare and walked over, extending a huge hand to engulf her small one. He was incredibly strong, but didn't try to crush her hand, just shook it firmly and released it, looking her in the eye. "Name's Kiyonneh. Call me Ki. If ye can put up with this'un" he indicated the scowling slightly red-cheeked Inuyasha with a hand, "ye're welcome ta call me Ki. I run this-abouts place. Welcome, y'are." Startled by the huge blunt man, Kagome replied. "Um, I'm Kagome." Nodding quickly, he turned back to Inuyasha. "So, whats'is that you got stuff ta trade? Wanna let me look?"  
  
Inu nodded. "Figured I'd try to get some food first. Have you seen Miroku lately? I got some stuff to discuss with him about our last claim." Ki shrugged. "Dunno where he went. I trained ya better'n that, space-rat. Go find him, ya git. And take yer crew widdja. I expec' Mitty'll be ok bumpin' around."  
  
Kagome was fascinated. She'd never seen Inuyasha allow anyone ever call him by anything less than his name. He'd beat up others for calling him anything else. *Maybe it's a sign of respect...was Kiyonneh...Ki his teacher at some point?*  
  
Ki simply grinned again and smacked him on the shoulder. "Off ye go then. I look forward ta seein ya again soon. Come by me place after ye're through wid yer business. Max'll be wait'n for his game'a Go. Ye comin, cat?" The cat simply stared at him. He shrugged, and stated, "Well then, iff'n yer stayin, take care 'o' the lady, eh?" With that, he strode off, leaving his cat, who seemed to want to stay by the way he was sitting on Kagome's feet, causing them to go numb and butting his head against her thighs for more scratches.  
  
Inuyasha started off, and Kagome and Max quickly followed. The place was a veritable maze of passageways, color coded and labeled with names. The place was built in a spiral, with the innermost part of the asteroid being the center for its vital functions: sewage, waste treatment, reclamation of resources, etc. placed evenly over the spiral were elevator shafts and elevators that carried visitors to different locations within the asteroid. Different decks and bays held different places: bars, restaurants, stores, refitting centers, mechanics shops, repair centers, homes, and hydroponic gardens.  
  
They made their way to an elevator and headed upward to a recreation level. "We'll check northside first. They've got a bar. Southside is next, and it takes longer to get there." was all Inuyasha said as they boarded the crowded elevator. Strips of light indicated that the elevators moved quickly, stopping at decks, and finally it stopped completely and the last people got out, scattering quickly to their various tasks and pleasures. Kagome and Inuyasha headed for a place called simply "Tootz" with a large garish pink sign that flashed on and off. "Watch yer back in here, okay, wench?" Inuyasha said, forgetting to call her by her name in his worry.  
  
She glared at him and shot off, "It's Kagome, you jerk." and headed for the dark swirl that seemed to be coming out of a ...pearl? He figured that they had changed their door holograph, as she entered before he realized she was even moving. She paused, turned and looked at him over her shoulder, half in and half out of the doorway. "What're you waiting for? Let's get Miroku and get out of here. I'm hungry and I want to beat his ass too!" Grimacing, he followed her quickly.  
  
****  
  
Miroku was very drunk. VERY drunk. He was lying on his back on the dance strip, another drink clutched in his hand, with the newest dancer, a lady known as Kagura, giving him a mad lap dance using her pole to balance over his prone body as she wiggled crazily. She'd given him a lap dance now, every night for a week, always ending with him sleeping with her that night. MAN, was she good.  
  
Or, at least he THOUGHT she was sleeping with him. He just didn't remember a lot after she'd kiss him. He'd wake up the next day with a horrible taste in his mouth and throat, and a pounding headache. His clothes seemed to get more and more torn each time, and he'd acquired a black eye and several funny cuts and bruises that he just couldn't remember getting for the life of him. He put it down to rough...ahem, activity in the bed, but a twinge in his chest kept telling him that there was something vaguely wrong.  
  
For one thing, who was that girl named Sango that had woken him up one day, yelled at him and then run out white faced when she saw the naked and smirking kagura lying next to him, wrapped in the sheets of his bed? Well, to be honest, he'd been lying with his head at the end of the bed, fully clothed, his pants unzipped, and she'd been lying in his bed the other way... How confusing. He seemed to remember her face for one second, smiling manipulatively at ...Sango, and asking what the girl wanted with her ...lover? Wait, what? And he hadn't had any intention of sleeping with the Kagura woman at all, he'd only had one drink that night with her... she'd kissed him, and then he'd forgotten... and woken up fuzzy.  
  
His heart had twinged again after Sango had left, and Kagura had distracted him artfully by kissing him in front of Sango and sticking her hand down his pants...She'd offered him another kiss, and he'd blacked out again. The Hell?  
  
Kagura finished the lap dance and he managed to stop giggling. She leaned closer, her breath smelling funny, and said in a husky voice, "So, how about another kiss, huh?" The other patrons cheered, knowing (unlike Miroku) that her kisses promised a zombie-like trance state where Miroku was completely under her control...for their entertainment. She leaned closer, to capture his lips, when a loud voice cried out, "MIROKU HOUSHI!! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!! HOW MUCH HAVE YOU HAD TO DRINK THIS TIME, EH?!?!" With that, an amazingly strong pair of arms yanked him away from the furiously pouting Kagura and onto his own wobbly feet. "Give him back! I'm not hurting him!"  
  
The familiar looking man with white hair snarled back, "KEH. Yeah right, bitch. You're using tehneigan powder to brainwash him. Fuck off or I'll kill you." This prompted angry murmurs amongst the crowd, and one shouted, "giv'im back, ol' man!" This prompted others to step forward menacingly. "Yeah. Giv'im back, yer ruinin' the show, shit fer brains."  
  
****  
  
Inuyasha simply threw Miroku over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes with one arm and with the other, cracked his knuckles, tossed his hair back and snarled. "Bring it on, you little shits. Who wants to see their guts tonight first?!" He was stopped suddenly when Kagome stepped forward, her hands glowing with energy. "I suggest you lot back off." The fat man who had been threatening Inuyasha stared at her, white faced and backed slowly away. "Shit, it's a miko... if one's here, then Patrol ain't far behind." Still, a few charged, and Kagome proceeded to blast them off their feet unconscious.  
  
Taking advantage of this, and ignoring Miroku's feeble struggles, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome by the back of her shirt and quickly hightailed it out the door, smashing one hapless challenger out of the way while dragging her. He had almost made it when he was caught abruptly off balance by Kagura leaping into his arms. "You're much stronger than him...I bet you would be a lot more fun to play with." With that, she kissed him.  
  
Snarling in disgust, he let go of Kagome and simply grabbed the woman by her neck and threw her across the room. "That won't work on me, BITCH. I'm immune to shit like that." This earned him looks of terror and hatred from many. "It...it's a YOUKAI! Only Youkai are immune to stuff like that! Run! Get HIM! DIE! AIEEE!" Snarling again, he grabbed the startled Kagome around the waist and gathering his legs, leaped over the heads of his foes, still carrying the unconscious Miroku, who had gotten his head banged against a table in the melee. They made it out the door, and he kept running until he made it back to one of the elevators, via several alleyways and darkened "streets".  
  
Sighing then, he stopped. "You ok?" he gruffly asked Kagome. She nodded yes, her cheeks slightly pink at the fact that his hand was still clamped around her waist. "Let's get back to the Tetsusaiga then." Exhausted by her display of sorcerous energies, she managed quietly. "I'm kind of tired. I don't think I could make it that far." Letting go of her, he ordered shortly. "Keh, weak humans. Get on my back, I can run faster and get there sooner." She didn't question him, mutely following his command. As he flew silently down corridors, his feet making no sound, she fell asleep.   
  
When he finally arrived back at the ship, he spoke. "Kagome, I tried to throw them off our trail a bit. We're back now." When she didn't reply, he turned his head, hearing her even breaths. The expression on her face was too cute to wake her up, so he simply tromped into the ship, set her on her bed in her room, and then wandered over to sickbay to deal with the much abused Miroku.  
  
He'd have to call Kiyonneh later and explain the trouble they'd found at Tootz's. Where had the peacekeepers been? At least Kagome had been able to handle herself, he thought with silent pride. *She's pretty useful in a fight* Miroku was a whole other matter. Setting him down none too gently on the medical berth, he proceded to administer the antidote to the poison the bitch had been feeding him. It was going to be a long night.  
  
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Hm. Are my chapters getting shorter? I try to keep them to three pages. Ah well, more later. Review if ya have the time, etc. etc. etc. (Guess what movie THAT's a reference to? a virtual cookie to you if you get it right!!) Or maybe I'll just eat your cookie and tell you how good it is....  
  
HEH. I never said I was good now, did I?  
  
Mostly-evil...ly yours,  
  
Lanenkar 


	7. Chapter 7: Hey boys&girls, meet Sesshoum

Fuck. I think I've been spelling Sesshoumaru wrong. And I should KNOW better, shouldn't I? Since I'm a mad manga fan, anyways. DAMN. Ah well. Hey! I finally figured out how to see if I got any reviews for my story... Thank YOU SOOO much for the reviews! I luv yew, I luv yew. I feel all special now. And yes, I SHALL continue, can't make you people unhappy now, can I? I might get stabbed with paper airplanes!! (Huh? That made no sense...OH WELL! On to the fic...)  
  
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Rin's stomach was full, and she headed slowly back to her quarters. It had been an interesting few weeks. The day after she'd woken up, two kind men named Aun and Uhn had met her in the mess hall at breakfast and taken her on a tour around the ship, firing questions at her about her schooling, technical background, and practical training. They seemed pleased to hear about her skills in mechanics and her martial arts training. They had told her both would come in handy. At lunchtime, they had seated themselves around a large table full of men, and eaten heartily. It seemed the other men were quite curious about her, and asked many questions. They also had suggestions of things that she could do around the ship. Some were not exactly appropriate, but Aun and Uhn had glared at the men, and they'd shaped up a bit. She'd just laughed off the silly suggestions in favor of the practical ones. *So, I could be a martial arts instructor, or a mechanic or even a hydroponics specialist. Cool. Those sound like fun.*  
  
Their final stop for the day had been the ships hydroponics bays. Rin's excitement couldn't have been contained, especially when Uhn mentioned that they were having trouble with one of the breeder tanks for the fish. "The thing keeps growing weeds and killing the fish. We're not quite sure if it's the nutrient mix or something else. We've named the bloody tank Naraku, after that other bastard. See if you can master it, would you? Since you're so good with biotics, eh?"  
  
She nodded. And that led her to today. She'd spent several days with the tanks in hydroponics, figuring out how they worked. They weren't the standard, after all. They'd been modified so many times, she wasn't sure how they worked at ALL. She resigned herself to fixing them up, since they WERE rather important to the pirate ship. Hungry pirates were like hungry dogs. Grouchy and irritable– eating everything in sight.  
  
She knew now that she was aboard one of the pirate ships–the space dogs. All the men carried the insignia of a huge white dog and crossed swords behind it on their left breasts. And now, she did too on her coveralls. Some even had tattoos, which they'd been enthusiastic to show her. All of them spoke with great respect of their leader, who ensured that they had a good life, despite the "dirty" things they sometimes had to do. Rin observed dryly that they may have seemed amoral to outsiders, but they had an iron clad honor code amongst themselves, and an unswerving loyalty that bespoke them as something more than just ruthless space pirates. For one thing, they didn't attack miners or others who worked hard for a living. They only raided luxury liners... and only those that didn't bear the logo of Western Starlands.  
  
And THAT was a puzzle in itself. Why didn't the pirates attack the Western Starlands transports? They could have easily won, but then again, the transports were heavily armed, and were costly to attack, since their long range transmitters could easily contact the space patrol. Another interesting mystery was that the space patrol didn't bother the pirates. This, she had to conclude, was because the pirates were much more effective in keeping law and order in their territory, and to try to oust them would require more effort and time than the Patrol had, with all it's millions of other problems. Perversely, she felt proud to be allowed to wear their insignia.  
  
Making it back to her quarters, she grabbed the notepad that had her detailed map of the ship on it. She needed to go and visit the mechanic's station to get a tool, and it would only waste her time to get lost. She wondered what the silver haired man would think of that. Probably not much. When she'd mentioned him, the men had gone quiet and insisted that he was a stickler for efficiency. Well, she could be efficient, if it meant she could avoid him. He had an uncanny habit for appearing behind her and asking her questions. In fact, he made her nervous.  
  
Not only was he incredibly good looking, but he was intelligent as well, deducing who she was simply from her telling him her name. Once again, she wondered who he could be. He wasn't the captain of the ship, was he? He didn't act like it, though the men treated him with respect, and no little fear. She'd found out why when she'd stumbled upon a group of men in one of the cargo bays. He'd been fighting with another man, who'd had to be carried out of the room. She'd never seen anyone fight like he did. He was incredibly fast and strong, even against his larger and heavier opponent. The men had clapped and cheered after he defeated the man, and she found herself unable to look away from him either. Almost as if he had sensed her presence, he turned and his now red eyes clashed with her brown ones.  
  
Abruptly, he was standing in front of her. His eyes flashed once and he spoke. "Rin. What are you doing here." She managed a timid reply, "I– I got lost." Actually, she wanted to exercise and had been searching for the gym, and hadn't thought she'd get so lost. Aun and Uhn hadn't been around for her to contact to ask how to get there (they'd clearly been watching the fight), so she'd been wandering around. His eyes held hers and he gestured imperiously. "Hiten. Guide her wherever she wants to go, and give her a map so that she doesn't become 'lost' again. It is...inefficient." This was said in a sardonic tone as his eyes slowly resumed their golden color. The said man walked quickly over to her side and quickly ushered her out of the bay as Sesshoumaru watched, growling when Hiten touched her arm to move her more quickly.  
  
His mysteriousness was starting to get on her nerves. That, and he wouldn't tell her his name. It was becoming frustrating for her. *I'm not a baby anymore. I don't want to be kept in the dark. Kag-chan used to try to do the same thing. I don't LIKE it!* Abruptly, she lowered her head to peruse the map, cheeks flaming in shame. *That..that's not fair. I just wish that we could find her, and make sure she's safe from Naraku. That space miner that took all the rest of the pods sure hasn't turned up.* Not that she had even been given back their ship so that she could mount a search on her own. *I'm stuck here, by the orders of some high and mighty Sesshoumaru-person that won't let me do ANYTHING! I have to rely on the silver haired man for any snippets of information. And it's dumb that I have to keep calling him the "silver-haired man" or the "golden-eyed man"!*  
  
Still staring at her map, she turned a corner hastily in her frustration, and bumped into something tall and very solid. She would have fallen on her butt, but someone caught her before she could hit the ground. "You're not very good at taking care of yourself, are you?" Her eyes were drawn upward to the frowning face of the golden-eyed, white-haired man with the strange tattoos on his face. Somehow, bumping into him AGAIN triggered all her frustration, and when he set her carefully back on her feet, she shoved away and yelled at him.   
  
"YOU!! You...You...You arrogant, heartless bastard!! You're almost as bad as that Sesshoumaru person! You treat me like an ignorant child and say that I'm inefficient, lazy and silly! No-one will tell me what's going on, or why I can't just leave and find my sister on my OWN! It's not like I'm HELPLESS or anything!!! ...and YOU won't even have the decency to tell me your name so I can insult you properly! You just run around, butting in on my life, ordering people to do this and that and nary a care about what I'D like!!" This speech was punctuated with sharp jabs to the golden eyed man's chest and an unbroken glare at his face. Sesshoumaru could have sworn he saw flames rising from her.  
  
His response was to raise a sardonic eyebrow. "Insult me properly? Why bother, when you have already insulted me enough." he hesitated then, and unbeknownst to Rin, was desperately considering. *I can't punish her like the rest of my crew for insolence, since she's perfectly right about me keeping her in the dark, but it is for her own safety. I can't let anyone else catch her insulting me, or they might want to punish her....what can I do?!!* "Come. We will continue this discussion in a more private location. At the least, it will save you embarrassment." With that, he grabbed her arms and pulled her into an unoccupied storage bay nearby, despite her fuming and resistance to his hands clamped like vices around her wrists.  
  
Once inside, with the door shut, he managed to calm his anger and release her. She simply stalked away rubbing her wrists and began to pace. Her outraged tirade continued. "Great, I thought you said no-one would hurt me here!? And you look like a freak with those tattoos on your face...when is anyone going to tell me what the HELL is going ON?!?" He had winced at her accusation of hurting her, and stepped forward to capture her hands again, more gently this time to examine them. Dark bruises in the shape of his hands were visible across both her wrists. For a second he lowered his head. He HAD told her she would not be harmed, and somehow, his control around her always managed to snap somehow. He could even SMELL her pain, and that made him furious at himself. She yanked her hands away again, and he let her.  
  
He turned his back, hiding his expression from her. "Rin. I will not touch you again. I'm sorry to keep you in the dark, but it is for your own safety. Naraku has attempted three assassinations against your father that I know of with my network of informants. I know that you and your sister had something of importance that you were to show your father, and that you were engaged to Naraku. I have had my men search for any traces of the miner, but he is extremely elusive. He is not from this territory in space; he may be from one of the farther sectors out from this territory. I am still searching. And these tattoos are a family tradition, passed on only to the eldest son." She stared at his back, a startled look crossing her face. She managed to hold on to her indignation and continued. "Well, that still doesn't tell me who you are, or update me on anything about my sister. What territories have you searched? What kind of ship was it? Have you tried any voice recognition patterns on the miner's voice?"  
  
He turned then. "No, I have not. The best way to find the miners is to go to the places where they sell their ore. Since he was almost fully loaded with ore, I'd say that there are at least three places he could have gone. The Rimshot is the last place we will have to check. I have already checked the others." He regarded her again, calmly. "Since you wish so desperately to be updated, you will take tea with me every afternoon at 16:00... I am, of course assuming that your parents DID train you in the tea ceremony, even though they forgot to teach you manners?" The last was a parting shot, as he turned to head for the door. "W-Wait, I, what? Hey! That's not nice! What's your name??"  
  
She could have sworn he smiled at her, before opening the door. "Sesshoumaru." With that, the door opened, and he strode out, his expressionless mask once again in place, inwardly laughing at the expression of shock on her face. She couldn't move. She'd insulted SESSHOUMARU, the LEADER of the space dogs. The most RUTHLESS pirate in space, evil beyond compare, arrogant, irritating, RUDE... The man with the incredible golden eyes, silver hair, graceful, emotionless, gorgeous, tall, PERFECT Sesshoumaru. Who could fight with the speed and grace of ten men, probably knew the tea ceremony better than she did, understood several languages, flew, designed and built ships... "It HAS to be impossible." were the only words she could mumble. Her stomach had already hit the floor, and was crawling away from her.  
  
She wanted to hide. She wanted to run. She wanted to do ANYTHING but have tea with him at 16:00 hours. *What a way to go and stick my big foot in my mouth. I'll never live this down.*  
  
She didn't even remember to contradict his claim that SHE was the one engaged to Naraku. That was her sister... WAS.  
  
****  
  
Sesshoumaru was having a different experience. Someone had heard her yelling at him in the halls, and men kept running up to him with frantic expressions on their faces asking if the "Lady Rin was alright" or if they could take her punishment. Ridiculous. He couldn't have hurt Rin if he tried...but he had. He was angry enough at himself, that his tone was very frosty when he told all of them, "She has been punished enough. Her breeding has taught her manners, and when she disregards them, she will be embarrassed. I am satisfied with that." Somehow his men had turned into mushy idiots over the space of several weeks. All of them had fallen for the girl, treating her like a little sister. *I should just ask if they all want to adopt her or something. Sheesh! All of them want to defend her with the fury of ants around their queen!*  
  
And that brought another strange revelation. He actually CARED what she thought of him. Her parting expression, one of shock, had not told him of her emotions under the surface. Would she hate him like everyone else, judging him on his reputation? Would she scorn him for being a pirate? Would she avoid him like the plague, and only have tea with him because he ordered it, not because she wanted to? Because he was her captor and could force her? Why did he have this sudden urge to protect her from herself and any danger that might ever come to her, to wrap her in ribbons and let no-other male even touch her. *No-ONE touches what is MINE!* This thought elicited a vicious growl from his chest, and a strange tight sensation that caused a prickling in the back of his throat. But she wasn't really his, was she? She would be that Naraku-bastard's soon enough, no matter how he tried to prevent it. If he had ever cried before, he would have known that sensation well, but he did not, and ignored it. His damn weak emotions would go away eventually.  
  
But his thoughts continued. What would happen if she truly did hate him for what he had done? The only weapon that he could muster against her possible dislike was a mask of indifference that was slowly cracking under the sunshine and furious fire of her passionate existence. Every time she smiled, laughed, or got angry at him, the iron casing over his heart cracked a little bit more. And he had been watching her, when she wasn't aware of it. He didn't think that his men even knew. And THAT was for the best, because they might see it as a sign of weakness. And weakness meant death.  
  
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Ha HA! Drama. Don't you just love Rin-chan? I made her about a year younger than 'Gome. So, she's like 18 and 'Gome's like 19 or 20? Pick one, tell me which you'd prefer... I can't decide. I also made her a bit more feisty, like Kagome, but still sweet. And hey, added in some good stuff about Sess treating her like a child. (YAHOO!) Since she's NOT... 'Cuz that's how I seem to get treated like at home...even though I'm in college and INDEPENDENT. Freakin' A. Hmm. Hafta work today. Disney's CA Adventure (is the devil!) Whoops, I meant...fun. Yeah. So, um, Review please. Hmm, I think I'll hafta go update my blog today. 


	8. Skip if you don't Care snif

Fluff shall come eventually. Thank you all for the compliments. I am a hardcore fan of Sci-fi and fantasy too, Sprout, so I guess this is sort of a natural continuation of my liking for both genres. And anime/manga, of course. Heh–actually, you could say it's an obsession, since I've read most of the sci-fi books in the public library near my house... and most of the manga in the local Borders.  
  
I like Rin and Sesshoumaru moments too, Karasu. I also sort of like Sess/Kag stories... and my older sister has suggested that when I finally finish this story, I should write one of those. But that's just because in the latest episodes of IY (number 106 &7, downloaded...) Sess-chan looks more masculine. Hubba hubba!! Sess, Inu and Kag are my favorite characters. And Naraku's a pretty good bad guy... though I sort of like Hades from the movie Hercules a little better. (More sarcastic, he is.)  
  
Glad to hear that others besides me love HP...you'd never guess that my fifty-something aunt Kate would have introduced me to the entire series before it became really famous (after the second bookie). Hurray for potterphiles everywhere! Heh heh, I had to pause to check on my fav. Fanfics when reading hp too... (older sister julie rolls eyes and wacks lanenkar on the head "Hurry and finish reading hp!" Dad whacks on head too "yeah! I wanna read it too!")  
  
Goody for Kouga bashing. I just love beating him up a little. I'm still debating whether or not to add Shippô to the story (he's SO annoying...) Do you think that I should, itchytasty. (Hee hee, funny name, btw.) =0  
  
Hmmm. I'm thinking that Kikyo is evil...but that's just because she's an illegal copy....and we all know that human cloning has MAJOR problems, so no clones in the near (or far) future. (hint hint, figure that one out!!) Oooh, the plot shall thicken quite nicely. Once I chuck that cornstarch in... ***THUNDER. ENTER THE THREE (ERR, ONE) WITCHES Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Harpier cries 'Tis time, 'tis time. Round about the cauldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone. Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter'd venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.*** (Eheh heh, couldn't resist a little dramatics...)  
  
Ummm so, good ol' Shakespeare. The randomness has hit me. Ah well, I did try to at least APPEAR normal. So much for that. Err, and this is NOT to say anything about being a witch. I'm not, but I have very good friends who are...and they are lovely people *throws princess kisses* MUAH! It's just to say I'm a big plotter... Fluff will take a while to appear. Right now, we're still warming up the icicles, if you knowwhattimean. Okay, you're bored already. More good stuff will come. I've updated TWO chapters today, for all the addicts...errr, aha ha. *rubs back of head sheepishly* (aka: my luvverly readers). MEH~!  
  
Anyone wanna guess where I got my name from?? I'll send you a cookie. (See end of ch. 7 for details...) BWAH HA HA HA HA!  
  
And with that, a word from our sponsors:  
  
Perfect Taco productions  
  
Mom (who feeds me sometimes)  
  
Black Russian Tea (keeps me awake)  
  
blah blah blah,   
  
bye now!  
  
Lanenkar 


	9. Chapter 8: The Day After

Uppps, didn't know that I wasn't supposed to put author's notes up. Anyways, sorry to fanfiction.net! Nobody report me, ok!? *holds umbrella over head to shield shelf from rain of fire* -_-0 sweatdrop! Owieeeee!!! Enjoy this chappie, next one will take me a while to write, so expect a delay of at least a day...or two.  
  
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Kagome awoke in her room, a reaction headache making her aware of how much it had cost her to blast those good for nothing thugs at Tootz's on their asses. The only cure for it was a glass of Kaede's herbal tea (which she didn't have) or some exercise (which was a possibility.) Groaning, she sat up, peeled off her dirty clothes, and put on a fresh exercise tunic. Hopefully, she could use the exercise room with no disturbances. Exercising built up her power, as long as she ate properly afterwards. That, and she'd definitely have to meditate.  
  
Making her leaden way out of her quarters, she squinted in the bright lights of the hallway, turning towards the exercise room and considering how nice Inuyasha had been to carry her home last night. *He must have put me on my bed, because I don't remember anything once he put me on his back.* she also considered something else. The relevation that he was a Youkai. She'd known that from the moment she'd seen him, but hadn't expected that other people would be so prejudiced against him and his augumentations.  
  
He was strong as well, throwing that woman across the room, and for a moment, she paused, struck by a sudden thought. *What if he throws me like that?* He hadn't even cared if the woman was alright or not. Shaking her head, she blinked and kept thinking *Yeah, but this is Inuyasha. His heart's in the right place. He'd only do that to someone who was hurting his friends...I think. I...I really hope that he sees me as a friend. No...DAMNIT. I wish I could be..Oh, stupid. Stop now, girl. Go exercise. Sheesh, reaction headaches make you think strange things."  
  
She paused by the medical room and peered in. Miroku's sleeping bandaged form met her eyes, and she sighed again. Inuyasha must have taken care of him too. She quickened her step. *He IS a good person. He'd never even think of hurting me, or Sango or Miroku. Never.* With that, she stepped to the door and opened it. Exercise and meditation would clear her mind.  
  
****  
  
Inuyasha had gotten little sleep that night, and had finally given up trying to sleep after a five hour nap. He headed off to the exercise room to ease some of his frustrations, and was busily sweating away in the middle of a strenuous workout. When the door opened, he looked up, startled, still holding the 650 pound barbell in one hand. He had not been expecting her here. She looked stunned as well, staring at his shirtless chest and the ripped cotton drawstring pants that hung low around his slender waist and were ripped off just below his kneecaps, showcasing his muscular calves.  
  
When she didn't move after a couple of minutes, he continued his workout, not taking his eyes off her. She was wearing a scandalously short pair of ripped shorts and a tank top that showed off her toned stomach and navel. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail on top of her head, and curls bounced around her face as she hesitantly took a step forward. *Funny, her hair is up just like mine.* Baring his fangs, he decided to tease her unmercifully. "What're you staring at, wench? Like what you see?"  
  
She started, turned redder than a tomato, and practically hissed back, "Shuttup. I didn't think you'd be awake, since you were probably up late last night, taking care of Miroku." Quickly moving past him and studiously NOT looking at him she headed for her archery range area. As she passed, he smelled something interesting. *She..she was aroused? By...what?" Finishing his workout, he followed her curiously wanting to smell her better and see if his nose was not deceiving him, and she stopped abruptly, his tall, warm presence making itself known right at her back. He was almost TOUCHING her. He decided to have a little fun. "Something bothering you Kagome?" He said this close to her ear, lowering his voice.  
  
She trembled, and turned around suddenly, taking a startled step back at how near he was to her. "You–You– conceited PIG! PERVERT! Wha-WHAT are you trying to DO, HUH?!!" He stepped forward and she stepped back, and he continued to move forward and her backward, stating in that same tone of voice, "I'm not trying to do anything. I ...am succeeding." With that, she bumped into the bulkhead, and looked startled that she had crossed the room without her realizing it before. *Somehow my presence distracts her. And she IS aroused... Hmmm. Interesting.*  
  
Leaning even closer, he breathed in her scent. Lavender and citrus, and a hint of cinnamon. *Her arousal? She...smells good.* He stared into her confused eyes. *Bottomless, like a lake, but warm and alive and brilliant* Swallowed by her eyes, he could hear her heart beating madly along with his, her breaths coming short near his own lips, her cheeks aflame and her eyes captured in his gaze. *Just a taste...* was all he could think, as he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own.  
  
He had only meant to taste, but somehow, with his half-naked body against hers, it had become something less than a chaste kiss to throw her off balance and tease her. When he broke the kiss, her hands were flat against his chest, and his arms were placed against the wall on either side of her shoulders, trapping her there. She stared at him, her eyes dreamy for a second before a flash of awareness hit them. He was staring at her as well, half bewitched by her. *What the HELL just happened?! What was I thinking?? What–No, I WASN'T thinking at ALL!*  
  
She must have thought the same thing, because she ducked under his arm and shot out of the room, though he called after her. "Wait! Kagome, I didn't mean to do it, I mean, I didn't mean to go that far...I mean! FUCK! Get BACK HERE, BITCH!!" (the last half-heartedly) As she ran out of the room. He let out a disgusted snarl at himself. He'd bloody KISSED the bitch! What could he have been thinking. Running his fingers through his hair, he stomped back over to where his towel and water bottle were. *Fuck fuck fuck. Why did I just do that? I mean, I like the girl, she's my friend, but FUCK. I went WAY to far! No woman would want me, I'm a hanyou. Now she hates my fucking guts. KEH. Well, who cares? I don't care about some stupid bitch! I won't!*  
  
His heart constricted painfully, telling him another story. *I... really do like her. But she's not likely to stay with me, even if I ask her. Her parents sound like mighty important people, and she's so set on accomplishing her mission of finding her sister. She hasn't told me much about who she is...but she's shared her past with me, and TRUSTS me, and now I may have broken her trust FOREVER...oh shit, I hate this!* after taking a gulp from his water bottle, he threw it at the door angrily. Just as it smashed, spraying water everywhere, the door opened again, revealing a pale, and now wet Miroku.  
  
"Hey Inu-kun, I was hoping to talk to you." He paused, staring at the angry hanyou, who quickly turned his back and said "FEH" loudly. "Did something happen just now between Kagome and you?" "N-NO! Nothing happened, got that!!" Inuyasha whirled to face him and snarled. "Ah....I was just wondering because she practically ran past me in the hall looking like someone had spray-painted her face red and upset her. But, since you say obviously nothing happened, perhaps I could ask you a few questions about something that's bothering me..."  
  
****  
  
As the door opened, Kagome stopped, completely immobile. She couldn't have moved at the sight that lay in front of her. Inuyasha, wearing only a pair of ripped-off cotton drawstring pants slung dangerously low on his waist, was lifting a heavy looking weight barbell with one hand over his head. It was the sight of his lean, perfectly muscled chest, his corded muscles bulging in strain, his trim waist and muscled calves that made her brain turn to mush. She'd never seen him without a shirt, or even with his hair pulled into a high ponytail on his head. That, and his surliness had kept her from even thinking (more than a couple of times, to be honest) about the body beneath his clothes that held so much strength.  
  
Now, faced with the reality, she could only stare. *He has a body that a pleasure slave on Knossus would envy* was the only thought she could entertain. This, she knew because she had been offered a slave from Knossus by one of her father's prospective partners... the slave had been a "breeding" slave, because of her father's concern for a male heir from his daughters to carry on his business. Never mind the fact that Kagome was better at the transport business than any man she knew... Her heart fluttered madly in her chest, and she remembered suddenly how they had been alone together on the ship for months (forgetting conveniently that they had argued and fought most of the time) and how little she was wearing as well. A warm uncomfortable feeling grew in her belly.  
  
He of course, at that point, had to remind her how badly her self control was slipping when he opened his mouth and spoiled the perfect view. "What're you staring at, wench? Like what you see?" Shooting him a glare of pure anger, she stalked quickly by him, managing to hiss angrily (more anger at herself than him), "Shuttup. I didn't think you'd be awake, since you were probably up late last night, taking care of Miroku." She kept walking, but he followed her, and when she spun around to yell at him and put him in his place, his tall blatant masculinity overwhelmed her again, and he leaned even closer!! "Something bothering you Kagome?" His voice was deeper, almost throaty in her stunned ears.   
  
Managing to muster her anger, she tried to fight back against his intimidation. "You–You– conceited PIG! PERVERT! Wha-WHAT are you trying to DO, HUH?!!" She didn't even realize that she had stepped back, since he kept the distance between them the same. He replied arrogantly, "I'm not trying to do anything. I ...am succeeding." Normally, that would have angered her immensely, but she was too startled when her back hit the wall behind her, trapping her between a rock and a hard place.  
  
He leaned even closer, staring into her eyes, and her brain melted into a tiny pile in her shoes as her heart beat madly in her chest. Their breaths were mingling, and before she could think, his lips were on hers, tasting and claiming in a kiss that started out chaste and became almost– heated. He finally broke the kiss and Kagome re-opened her eyes, which she hadn't realized she'd closed, and realized her hands were touching his chest. His smell drifted into her nose then, sweat and a clean fresh male scent that caused her brain to snap back into motion.  
  
*OHMIGOD,OHMIGOD! I just KISSED Inuyasha! What would my sister think of me!?!* In her panic, she ducked under his arms and sprinted for the door, hearing him call after her, "Wait! Kagome, I didn't mean to do it, I mean, I didn't mean to go that far...I mean! FUCK!....." Cramming her fist into her mouth, she raced down the hall, slamming into a very startled Miroku and sending him crashing to the floor with a cry of pain.  
  
Quickly she picked herself off him, avoiding his groping hands, and made to run again. He stopped her with only a few words. "Lady Kagome? Have... you seen Inuyasha? There are some things I think I need to talk to him about." Beet red and too distraught to respond she gestured towards the door of the exercise room and took off again without another word toward the safety of her quarters. There, she threw herself on her bed and refused to raise her head from the pillow. *I kissed Inuyasha. He's going to be so mad at me...He'll kick me off his ship and never help me again!! I'll NEVER find my sister then!! Naraku'll have won!* Anguished at her failure, a tear slipped out of her eye, followed quickly by others.  
  
*****  
  
Inuyasha had been much too frustrated to listen to Miroku for long. Finally he'd just growled at the bouzou, "Look, I wanna shower and some food. Meet me in the dining room, kay?" With that he stomped out, leaving the perverted man to put two and two together: Kagome's blushing face and Inuyasha's angry face meant that something must have happened between the two. Momentarily distracted from his own problems, he grinned and agreed as the door seemed to snap shut as angrily as Inuyasha had stormed from the room. "'Bout time that idiot found someone that he likes. He alienates everyone in creation..." Rising to his feet, he made his wobbly way back to the dining room.  
  
Inuyasha meanwhile, was standing under his shower, growling about impossible women who never listened to him and did outrageous things. Stomping out, he wound a towel around his waist, and grabbed his clothes to dress.  
  
Minutes later, he met Miroku in the dining room.  
  
****  
  
There was a strange stiffness over his body, punctuated by areas of throbbing pain. The pain was lessened somewhat though with the knowledge that Inuyasha had possessed the sense to haul his ass out of danger, despite how much he protested. (Which wasn't much, since Inuyasha was stronger than him and had ignored his struggles–rendered feeble by drugs and alcohol.) Now, if his memory served him correctly, he was going to have to apologize to Sango, and he didn't have the foggiest clue how THAT was going to happen. Thus, his asking Inuyasha for advice.   
  
He was actually more shook up than he had thought. What had happened to him while he was asleep? Had he been taken advantage of by Kagura? Was he still possessed, and would he follow her commands if she even crooked a finger? This was a disturbing thought. He wanted his free will back, but he wasn't sure it was possible. Maybe Inuyasha would know.  
  
Usually, he was the wise one, the one with the skills with women and the knowledge of how to make them happy. But in this case, the case of the woman that probably mattered most to him in the whole galaxy, he was uncertain and afraid. The consequences to his heart, hidden so carefully under layers of disguises from hurt, would be shattering. He had to make it RIGHT. Because she was justifiably angry at him– though what she thought had happened was not true; he knew that much. He hadn't slept with Kagura at all.  
  
Frankly, he just wanted to hide in a hole and avoid anyone and everyone before he went back to his ship. He wasn't even sure THAT was a safe haven anymore. He'd have to check it top to bottom and in every cranny. Raising his hand to his head to staunch the massive headache that was growing and waited for Inuyasha to appear.  
  
He didn't have to wait long. Inuyasha appeared, his hair dripping, looking distracted and a little bit grouchy. "Hey bouzou. I'm hungry. Food first, talk later." Miroku could appreciate this. It gave him a little time to gather his thoughts and compose himself. He walked over to the food prep unit and began to make ramen and beef. Detachedly, he noticed that his hands were shaking the tiniest bit. Abruptly, Inuyasha seized his bowl from him and growled. "Stupid ahou. Siddown, I'll make it for you. You probably shouldn't even be walking about." Finishing, he stomped back to the table and clunked the bowls down.  
  
"I dunno what happened while you were drugged, but I asked Kiyonneh to help me check your ship last night. Mitty went over and helped too, and is staying onboard to guard it right now. Ki's not sure who the thugs are that are running the slave ring...y'know, you're really lucky that Kagura thought you were a fun toy. Otherwise, she'd have sold you to the slavers, and your ship too. Evidently that's what she's done with the last poor fools that she bewitched with that drug..."  
  
He paused to shovel ramen into his mouth. "...oh, and the med unit says that nothing, um, bad happened to you except that you're pretty roughed up. Some bruises, a couple cracked ribs, some residual effects of the drug going out of your system, since I actually had the antidote. It'll take ya a while to get back to normal though." With that, he buried his head in his bowl and slurped.  
  
Miroku nodded slowly, feeling relieved. "That...that is good. I had thought. Well, that I'd have to do everything on my own." for a second he bowed his head. "I just wish that I knew what I was going to say to Sango. I fear she is truly angry at me. What she saw... it caused her much hurt I think. And I was not even fully aware at the time. I think that I was just coming out of the influence of the drug when she came, and Kagura had to give me some more." there was a momentary pause of silence. "I'm not sure how to explain it to Sango. What...what would you do?"   
  
Inuyasha looked up, and stopped eating. For once, his face was solemn and his gaze direct. "Tell her that you were under the influence of tehneigan. She'll figure it out and come around eventually. In the meantime, you should probably try to recover."   
  
Another pause, and suddenly Miroku smiled like his old carefree self, an innocent smile hiding a perverted mind. "So...what happened between Kagome and you today? She seemed rather...embarrassed." His smile grew as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Inuyasha groaned, his face turning beet red, and punched Miroku in the arm lightly. "Shaddap. She's gonna hate me forever. I just wanted to tease her a little like usual, and things got out of hand." "Ah." Said Miroku in response. "So, you kissed her, and she ran away or something?" "WHAT?!?! NO, NO!! I mean...yes but NO.. Aw, shit. Yeah, pretty much that." This was promising. Miroku pursued his point. "Do you like her? She's a very nice girl– very useful." "It... it's not like that. She's beyond me. I... She is handy, isn't she?" Inuyasha's mind was whirling *From what I know of her, she's from a rich family...influential, but insists on helping me and staying with me. I wonder what she's afraid of if she were to go out of hiding. I'm just a convenient hiding place for her, nothing else.*  
  
Miroku smiled truly then. "You do like her. You'll never say it outright, but you do. You might as well admit it." Inuyasha's red face, and renewed interest in slurping up every last bit of ramen from the bottom of his bowl was his only answer. Cramming the last of his own ramen into his face, he gestured with his chopsticks. "You never know what will happen. Don't write her off too soon. I think she's good for you. And now, before you decide to kill me, I'll leave..." With that, he managed to rise painfully, stow his bowl and rush for the door, calling over his shoulder, "Maybe you should kiss her more often! Then you might not fight as much!"  
  
Inuyasha's empty bowl smacked against the door half-heartedly. The Bouzou was right, any way you looked at it.  
  
****  
  
When Kagome didn't emerge from her room the next morning, Inuyasha became worried. After his conversation with Miroku last night, he wanted to explain himself and maybe assure her that IT would never happen again. No matter how much he wanted it to... If she was as upset as he thought she was, he figured she'd never forgive him or even speak to him again, and justifiably so. So, standing worridly outside the door of her room, he debated on whether to break her privacy to check on her and see if she was safe. He'd checked on her before, every night in the middle of his shift, to make sure that she was okay after their pirate ship-boarding debacle.  
  
*Could I just claim I'm checking up on her like usual? It's eleven in the morning, ship's time. I don't think anyone would buy that. But what if she's hurt herself? What if she's NOT okay? What should I do?!!* Steeling himself for a beating, he punched the override code on the door and peeked his head tentatively around the doorway. She was sprawled across her bed, still in the same clothes from yesterday, and sniffing, he could detect the smell of salt all over her. *Shit. I made her cry. Now I feel like a colossal jerk.*   
  
Turning to go, he was almost reaching for the door switch, when she rolled over and sat up. Guiltily, he whirled around to face her in panic. The first words out of her mouth were a blurted, "I'm SORRY! Please, please don't make me leave! Please don't throw me out! I...I want to stay!!" Confused he stared at her. *She thinks I'm here to make her leave? Wha– Why?* Gruffly, he responded. "Can I come in?" Confusion raced over her face, and she stared at him. She concluded that even if he didn't want to kiss her, maybe he still wanted to be her friend... Taking advantage of this, he stepped into the room and let the door close behind him. He chose to seat himself at the table seat near the door.  
  
"L-look, I'm sorry, ok? I got out of hand and it won't happen again. If..." the words stuck in his throat, "If you don't want to stay with a hanyou, it's ok, I'm sure Sango or Mioku'd be glad to have you on their ships..." His eyes searched hers fearfully, but his face was a mask, hiding his emotions. He really did want her to stay. He'd gotten used to her presence, her smile, everything about her. If she left, she'd tear a gaping hole in whatever life he had left. Her soul had somehow become a part of his, her life entwined in his.  
  
She blinked a little in confusion. "I don't care if you're a hanyou. It doesn't change who YOU are inside. You have a good heart and soul and I TRUST you. Besides, Miroku's a PERVERT. He tried to freakin' GROPE me in the hall the other night." she said to quickly distract him from her praise. It worked. He growled and fisted a hand. "He did that, did he? I might just have to add a few bumps to the lecherous bouzou's head." She rose from her bunk and walked over, offering her hand to him. "Friends again?" He reached tentatively, a blush on his face, out and took it, ignoring the electric spark that seemed to pass between them, and the shiver that traveled up his spine as he touched her. "Yeah." was his only gruff response, and he quickly bounced to his feet. "I'd better go, I gotta lot of ore to unload today."  
  
He added a quick "Bitch" as an afterthought, and headed for the door, laughing as she threw a sock at him and bounced it off the back of his head, launching another that missed as he skittered out the door and down the hall, still laughing. Things were back to normal, but he couldn't help but think that an understanding had been reached. His heart felt somehow lighter.  
  
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Hey, lookit that--icicles melting. Everyone happy now? Adventure and fluff (mostly adventure) to follow. How exciting! My plot is moving along!! HURRAH! Alright, must go write more.  
  
*pen scratches industriously*  
  
Lanenkar 


	10. Chapter 9: Hormone SOUP! err, tea!

Umm, so, did I explain that the bio-nanite augumentations were done at the age of five to Sess-chan...and only the richest human families could afford them. They also required that the humans who received them be exposed to alien blood, changing them...thus, the different "mutations" of the different youkai...does that make sense? And usually, the augs were kept up in the richer families to set them apart from the regular humans. Thus, we have the "youkai" distinction assigned to the "purebloods" of the galaxy. Ummm, and nowww, hormone soup!...whups, I meant TEA! ^.^;;  
  
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NOBODY would see her as his weakness. He was determined about that fact. And so the mask stayed in place, its artificial nature dooming it to failure. Silently, he prepared himself for chaji, the japanese tea ceremony with a meal.  
  
Rin was more concerned over other things. How, for example, for her to find a kimono to wear. Since Sesshoumaru seemed so traditional, it would only be proper for her to wear traditional dress. Maybe then she'd show him up, after that comment about her manners! *Really! The NERVE of that jerk! I have perfectly good manners...* The problem at hand had still not been solved. *Oh well, only one way to solve it.* With that cheering thought, she called the ship's quartermaster.  
  
"Hello? Genka-san? Do you have any kimono in my size? What? Oh, it's for tea with Sesshoumaru. You do? FANTASTIC! Uh...help putting it on? Well, just tying the obi...and maybe some help with my hair? Oh, that sounds great...uhuh. I need it before 1600 today. Yeah...yup. Can you help me?" She smiled as she closed the communications channel. *Really, he's funny. Always willing to help a damsel in distress, even though he prefers 'men' in dis dress's. Heh heh. Bad pun, bad pun!*  
  
Mission accomplished, she sat back in satisfaction. *And now, for a shower before he gets here. I smell.* Wrinkling her nose, she headed for the shower. It took her ten minutes to finish washing everything, including her waist length hair. *This stupid stuff takes forever to care for...* Was her grumbling thought as she climbed out of the shower and dried herself off in the air jets.  
  
When Genka arrived minutes later, she was wearing a bathrobe and slippers. The door chimed and she let him in. He was practically hustling and bustling like a mother hen. "Oh, hello Rin-chan...here, I'll lay this down here, and your underclothes there... some shoes, oh! And I brought hair accessories... you'll have to pick out which one you like, since there's several different kimono in your size." Rin nodded, and the process of dressing began.  
  
It took her about an hour to convince Genka to let her wear a lovely white kimono with purple blossoms on it, and a light spring green underkimono, with a gold with green-flowered obi. They both agreed to pull back her hair in a simple knot with a single comb with purple flowers to decorate it. When they were finally finished, and Genka was satisfied, Rin was ready to bonk Sesshoumaru-sama on the head for suggesting the tea. *Oh well. I just hope that it's worth it– to see the look on his face.* Genka voiced her thought out loud. "I can't WAIT to see what he thinks of you when you show up in this!!! Do tell me how it went, would you?"  
  
Rin nodded. "Can you show me to wherever he's having the tea?" Genka bustled her out the door, and down the halls, with admiring crewmembers stopping them and commenting on how pretty "Rin-chan" looked, and encouraging her to be calm. "You'll be just fine, looking like that. I'd be surprised if his eyes didn't bug out!! Ahaha ha! Imagine that, Sess-sama's eye's buggin' out!!"  
  
Soon, they were at the door. "This is where you go in, Rin-chan. Best of luck." She opened the door and slowly entered. It was a large oriental garden with a traditional looking teahouse at the other end! *Amazing what you can fit into a ship like this....* Rin thought. But when she turned, Genka hadn't left. "Ummm, I'll act as hanto today, I guess." He looked positively nervous.  
  
Silently then, he led her to the machiai, or waiting room, offering her sayu (the hot water used to make the tea) and then directing her just as silently to the dewy roji, where she patted the dust off her clothes and seated herself patiently on the koshikake machiai (waiting bench). *Who is the Teishu today?* was her silent thought as Genka just as quietly left, startling her. *Why...is he leaving? And why are there no other guests?* Her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet presence across the garden. Sesshoumaru. He was staring at her, and for a second so brief, she saw an expression of total surprise crossing his face, replaced by tranquility.  
  
*Ha-HA! So he isn't perfect. I'll have to be sure to tell that crewman that his eyes practically DID bug out!!* His eyes were staring at her now, warm, and filled with something that she couldn't decipher. What was that strange glint lurking in their depths? She could only wonder as the true tea ceremony began.  
  
****  
  
Sesshoumaru's mind was undergoing turmoil. He had, of course, planned out every aspect of the tea ceremony except for one thing: the guests. How could he stand the presence of three others while he and Rin had tea? A traditional Chaji, tea presentation with a meal, involved an auspicious number of guests– four. But he didn't want to have to invite four other idiots to ruin the peacefulness of the tea ceremony between him and Rin. If he could have told his subconscious to shut up, he would have, but it was whispering away that he only wanted her alone, as a mate or very close friend would take tea with him. Their tea had to be perfect; a reflection of every fleeting meeting that the two had undergone, never to occur again in exactly the same way.  
  
Even his meditation would not calm his jittery nerves, though his outside showed no expression. He quickly justified himself internally *I only asked RIN to tea, so therefore, I don't have to invite anyone else. Two is harmonius, between friends....but she's....this idle speculation is distracting me!* With that, he bent his head to his preparations once more. The chashitsu was spotless, freshly gleaming and polished as he could make it, that afternoon. The structure had been a gift to him from his father's un-augumented human wife, and as much as he had despised her, he had appreciated the usefulness of the gift. No-one could question him in the unimpeachable tranquility of his fortress: the Tea house and garden. It was his refuge and his place of power; and it had become his den.  
  
Silently, he filled the tsukubai with fresh water, and using a ladle of fresh water, purified his own hands and mouth. That finished, he serenely went through the middle gate to welcome Rin into the garden, and stopped. He stared at Rin, a stunned expression rapidly shifting across his face, and then schooled himself to stillness and bowed. Then, he turned and led her through the chumon, waiting patiently for her to purify herself, and noting how utterly beautiful she looked. With her hair up and wearing a proper kimono, she was dazzling. No, Incredible, beautiful, Perfect.  
  
They both entered the chasitsu, bowing their heads and crouching to enter the tiny doorway, and Rin latched the door, after a confused moment. She did not question his silent command that there would only be two taking tea that day. Good. He was pleased by this, and let the emotion stand in his eyes. He paused and examined the Tokonoma and its kakemono painting. It had been done by his own hands, and the bokuseki was well enough, he thought critically. All it said was, "In silence there are answers, In tolerance, understanding."   
  
Rin, he was pleased to note, knew the tea ceremony well, or at least was so gracefully concentrated that he could not have told the difference. She examined the kama and ro, and seated herself properly, an arm's length away across the hearth. Sesshoumaru silently built the charcoal fire, and spoke.   
  
"Rin, how fare you amongst my men? They are treating you with respect, I hope." Rin simply nodded, to afraid to say anything, lest she spoil the moment. Frustrated, he tried to get her to respond again. "Your duties are not to pressing, I assume?" This he said with a sardonic quirk of his eyebrow, teasing and challenging her at the same time. She raised her eyes then, from where she had fixed them on her hands, and responded. "No, they are not..." The unspoken words at the end of the sentance came naturally to him. "Once I, Sesshoumaru, stopped 'bothering' you, correct?" She had turned bright red, as he silently served her the chakaiseki on a tray with cedar chopsticks. She did not say a word as he stared into her eyes and served her sake as well.  
  
He then continued, serving the hashiarai, and then the nimono, followed by yakimono and kosuimono to cleanse her palate. He ate even as she did, savoring each bite of the food he had labored to make for her: white rice, miso soup, raw fish, pickled and plain fish, and pickled vegetables.  
  
The meal continued with the serving of Hassun, with both uminomono and yamanomono on a tray. He was surprised when she took the sake jar and served him sake as well, her delicate wrists showing from her sleeves. He wanted to kill himself when he noticed the still fresh marks of his attention, but she defiantly paid them no mind, not even wincing. This gave him hope. Perhaps she had forgiven him? Her serving of his sake implied that they were equals, and she respected him. Her hands had not trembled one bit, serving the "infamous pirate and killer". He didn't dare to hope.  
  
Konomono were served and then both cleaned their chopsticks with paper, finishing the meal with an omogashi. Upon finishing, he once again escorted Rin silently back to the machiai, he heart lighter with out his realizing how much her subtle actions had meant to him. He would now prepare their tea, hoping that she would talk with him further, instead of holding back. It was strange to see her restrain herself in such a manner, when she was usually so carefree and cheerful.  
  
Removing the scroll, he replaced it with flowers, and then quickly readied the koi cha (tea) instruments: the mizusashi for the water to be held in, the chaire with the Matcha in it, covered by a shifuku to be set in front of the mizusashi. The tana to display the utensils... Such concentration! Such choice!  
  
He called Rin back to the teahouse with five beats upon a gong, and they resumed the tea ceremony. Finally, the tea was done, and the instruments put away, as he began preparing usa cha (thin tea) from the natsume container.  
  
Their conversation resumed. "Your...men treat me well. I wished to apologize for my rudeness earlier today." This last was stated in a defiant tone of voice. He nodded his head once acknowledging her superiority in being slightly angry at his previous treatment of her and then inclined it slightly towards her, taking a sip of his tea and commenting almost idly. "Your hands did not shake once when you served me sake. Are you not afraid of this Sesshoumaru? And, it seems I insulted you too early. You do seem to know your tea ceremony pretty well." He regarded her perfect form, her fingers pressed against her tea bowl like it was a delicate, living thing.  
  
She nodded once and slowly replied. "Ano... how did this tea house and garden come to be? I would have never thought to have put something like this on a ship. And the bowls, they are very old, aren't they?" He nodded once. "These bowls belonged to a great-ancestor of mine, and date to the 18th century of Earth. The tea house was copied after one that exists on Earth by my late step-mother. I am sorry that I have been remiss in informing you of recent events and efforts to locate your sister. In the future, I will allow you access when we make any sort of investigation."  
  
This earned him a startled look. "You mean you'll let me go with you to the RIMSHOT!?!" Her eyes sparkled at him, and she gifted him with a true smile, of complete happiness. His mouth opened, and then closed. *What can I say? I should have stated that better, instead of staring at her hips and wondering if she would be as graceful in the tea ceremony as she would be in a fight...or in the bedroom. DAMN.* He frowned into his tea bowl then leaned forward to glare at her with frighteningly angry eyes of the purest color of gold. "I might allow you to come if I am certain of your ability to defend yourself. The Rimshot is not exactly the safest place for young fiances of prominent shipping magnates to go."   
  
She looked confused then. "Fiancé? Who's a fiancé? Kagome was supposed to marry Naraku...that disgusting double-crossing...GOAT! I can defend myself just fine, thank you very much. You're..It's just that you're so intimidating sometimes that I'm not sure whether to smack you or just obey you. It's a little hard to judge when my 'host' is a rather prominent youkai." For a second, she could have sworn that he had swallowed and his forehead had wrinkled in thought. "You are not afraid of me?" *She...is not the fiancé of that teme?* She smiled again, with amazing sweetness, and he felt his mask crack. "Why would I be? Several of my family's friends and retainers are youkai. Otou-san didn't give me full augumentations because he wanted me to wait until I was older and the procedure was less painful. I've only got a couple– for speed and stuff."  
  
They both continued to sip their tea, politely discussing the technique for serving the tea. Sesshoumaru was surprised to know that Rin's knowledge of the tea ceremony had come from her weapons instructor, who always insisted on tea after every lesson. "He considered it extra practice in control." had been Rin's explanation. This earned a rare smile from Sesshoumaru. "Well he should. It is an exercise of both the body and mind." Inwardly, Sesshoumaru was swearing *Chik'so, I sound like a prick. I mean, I just had TEA with her... I could at least be a little more comfortable or something. K'so! Say something nice, bakaleru! She's still nervous.*  
  
"Where did you get the kimono? I didn't expect you to have such traditional clothing. You look very... presentable." She smiled then, and began a long monologue on how great all his men were (as if he had no idea), starting with Genka-kun, Ahn and Uhn, and many others. She seemed of the opinion that he needed reassurance of the high quality of those whom he allowed to serve him. He snorted inwardly *Silly, I know that. If they were to act in a dishonorable manner, I would get rid of them... still it's nice to hear that they are treating her with respect.* He was surprised that she had found the kimono, but figured it must have been left over from his stepmother. Strangely enough, he didn't remember this particular kimono being worn by the human woman.  
  
All the better. It looked good on Rin. Reaching for straws, he tried to think of something to prolong their time together, despite the moments of comfortable silence that he was unable to fill. "You will of course have tea with me again. I suspect that it will not be so hard to fit into your schedule. Though it might be more convenient to have it in the mess. I can give you daily updates on any progress we make." He left it hanging, refusing to give her a way to back out. He was desperate to earn her approval– her forgiveness– for harming her without thought. He was not allowed to harm her, nor would anyone else be allowed either. Quickly he offered her Zabuton and teaburi, as well as higashi to eat.   
  
He also managed to get her to agree to a test with his weapons master (since she seemed uncomfortable around him, for some bizarre reason....or not) the next day, and somehow was roped into agreeing to go with her personally to the Rimshot. *Well, at least I'll be there with the prettiest lady I've seen in a while...even if she is still like a child compared to me. Interesting to find out that she has some augumentations. This is going to be very... engaging.*  
  
Finally, Rin finished expressing her admiration for his gracefulness in the art of serving tea as the tea master, or tenshi. He escorted her to the door and watched as she left in a peaceful fashion, her wide smile showing her pleasure at his concessions. *Perhaps she did not mind having tea with me so much... she is a very forgiving person...*  
  
****  
  
Rin hadn't minded. Though she HAD had to concentrate on the ceremony very hard several times, since she was distracted by Sesshoumaru's graceful and silent masculinity. Heck, the man was handsomer than the worst sin ever committed by man. Though she wasn't sure what exactly that sin could have been, it was enough to ensure her complete distraction. Her actions, praised by Sesshoumaru, had been the force of habit, like the sword drills and self-defense drills drummed into her by her teachers.  
  
Her mind had been elsewhere, imagining all sorts of things about him. What had his childhood been like? Did he have any close friends? Had he ever been married? What would his children look like? Had he always worn his hair so long? How ever did he manage to keep it clean and manageable and hanging so straight in zero-gee situations? Did he like his nails to act like retractable claws? Was that more useful for fighting and holding things? Such strange agumentations he had been given... Almost dog-like attributes.  
  
It was probably the only thing that kept her from losing her wits completely, with the tall, handsome man. Whom, she reflected, had not been kindly treated for probably his entire life...his coldness was most likely the result of an indifferent childhood, or one without friends. And he needed friends. His men could not even think of being his equal, so high had he set himself above them with his words and actions. There was no-one, really, who would stand up to him.  
  
Except her. She could see how lonely he was... how he had tried to do anything to keep her around, to talk to. She defied him, angered him, challenged his intelligence and patience, and didn't act like a groveling idiot in front of him. This alone seemed to set her apart from the slavish hero-worship that the toad Jaken seemed to lead.  
  
She was not inclined to speak much after the meal, being somewhat affected by his presence, but he hadn't noticed her interest in him because of his concentration. When the ceremony had finally completed, she had relaxed a little, remembering the reason why she had probably been invited to the tea; to discuss possible actions toward finding her sister. After that, things had been remarkably pleasant between them: no confrontations, just two people of equal status talking about things in their lives.  
  
He really wasn't quite the arrogant cold-hearted bastard that she had been led to believe. He was rather...nice, after all. And that caused her no end of confusion in itself. *I really LIKE him. Despite his strangeness, and masks, I feel comfortable and safe around him. He really seems to want to protect me... though I won't stand for being his 'little sister'– I'm practically an adult! Doesn't he notice? Eeeeeesh, men! He's so hard to read. Everything is hidden in his eyes, and the pauses between the words that he chooses so carefully to speak. You have to 'read' between the lines... He's like one of those really crappy romance novel heros. Tall, utterly masculine, mysterious and SO good looking. Hubba Hubba! Aw, shoot, my hormones are feeding off him like piranhas.*  
  
She smiled widely. *He was sure surprised to know that I'm not engaged to Naraku. Heh. Wonder why he cared? Some sort of silly honor thing, maybe. Kagome would know.* She'd have to tell the crew how Sesshoumaru had responded to her dress. That had been a pleasant reaction. The expression of shock on his face had been so CUTE! His eyes had gotten all wide, and his mouth gaped like a fish. And a sexy mouth it was too. *Whooo! There go the hormones again, girl!* She couldn't restrain her delight. *I even got him to agree to take me to the Rimshot....he didn't say it in words, but I just sort of 'interpreted' his words and helped him along...Heh heh heh!*  
  
She managed to make it back to her quarters before she gave in to the urge to do a victory dance down the halls. *This is going to be GREAT! I can't wait to find Kagome and tell her all about it!* He'd stared at her too, when she left. *Wonder what Kag-nii-chan will say about THAT?!*  
  
He hadn't become distracted by or annoyed with her overactive hormones either. So...maybe he did like her a little? Giving him another chance was easy– he was so damned good looking and so earnest to earn her trust, and he hadn't touched her once.  
  
And THAT was slightly irritating thought. What if he never ever touched her again? DANG! That would be entirely unsatisfactory. Rin sort of WANTED him to touch her... but gently. Or something like that. She wasn't entirely sure about stuff like that. She'd never had it happen to her before. Where were big sisters when you really needed them for complicated stuff like that?  
  
Ahhh, hormone soup.  
  
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Didja all like it? It took me forever to get back in the writing groove...I don't reccommend getting sick. It ain't fun. Oh, all the information about the japanese tea ceremony I found on a website...http://www.holymtn.com/tea/Japanesetea.htm   
  
It has all the info about the ceremony, and the vocabulary too. (Since I'm too lazy to stick all of it in.) If I got any of it wrong, would someone please tell me? I know it's a little unusual to have only ONE guest, but hey, artistic liberty. 'Sides, my sister agreed that the website was essentially right about how the ceremony went (since she's been to one in Japan). And I stuck this chapter up as soon as I finished it...I'll check it tomorrow for stuff.  
  
So, Review please, and I'll be sure to keep your weekly dosage of saccarine sweetness comin' to ya!  
  
Lanenkar the Wanderer FOREVER!  
  
Ps: Thanks for the review of my last chappie, Raven. Getting a complete circle is hard, isn't it? My wiccan friend is pretty sure I'm either a fire or aire... Me? I'm just confused. Good luck, and nice poetry... My fav poets are Auden, Keats, and Shakespeare...ooh, and Ts. Elliot. All creepy and confusing. WhoHOOO! 


	11. Chapter 10: Subterfudge, anyone?

Subter...fudge, anyone? Hmmm. Chocolate sounds good, but it's too hot where I live to even consider it.But here it is, for your enjoyment. And more to come too!  
  
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Inuyasha had unloaded the ore they had planned for the day, and had gone to bed, letting Kagome take the late shift for once. She was sitting idly in the main cockpit, using the 3D imager to show her the internal design of the Rimshot. *It's...beautiful in it's simplicity and utilitarian purpose. Nothing left to chance, all of it thought out. I wonder how long it took Inuyasha to plan this and for him and Ki-san to build it?...I wonder if I could design something like this?*  
  
She was also waiting for Sango to arrive. Inuyasha had told her some of what had happened to Miroku (and she'd seen some of it) and she wanted, strangely enough, to help the good-hearted lech. That, and she knew how Sango must be hurting, and trying hard to hide it. If there was one thing she was beginning to understand, it was how dangerous it was to let her heart get involved in the lives of others. But that, of course, never stopped her.  
  
*She'd better get here soon. Miroku's nightmares are getting worse, and Inuyasha had to tie him down on the bunk in sickbay today. He's acting so strange...but that's the drug withdrawal, isn't it? I've never heard him swear at anything or talk all creepy like that.*  
  
***Flashback***  
  
"Kagome. You will come with me. Kagura wants you." He had grabbed her, and then when Inuyasha ripped her carefully out of Miroku's grasp and place her behind him safely, "Damn you Inuyasha. I am Kagura's servant. I must return to her. Do not attempt to get in my way, I will be forced to hurt you." Inuyasha had conked him over the head and carted him back to sickbay to be tied down.   
  
***End Flashback***  
  
The look in his eyes....so dead. Why had it been so dead and empty? Kagome didn't understand. How could it be the work of some drug? Inuyasha had said that emotional bonds would lessen it's effect on Miroku. Which, he had also mentioned, was why it was so important to lure Sango there and appeal to her conscience...errr, better nature?  
  
Wait, could that be a very familiar ship's beacon?  
  
Yes...  
  
It was!  
  
****  
  
Sango couldn't have explained the strange uneven feeling in her heart those past few weeks. After walking in and finding Miroku (as usual) molesting some woman....But, what she finally admitted had hurt the most was the fact that he had looked at her as though he had never known her. Kagura's expression—no, THAT woman's expression was so triumphant, that Sango had wanted to cry for some inexplicable reason. Miroku had gotten what he'd wanted: some woman to bear his child. But she couldn't help wondering why he'd chosen THAT particular woman? Wasn't she good enough? Didn't he like her at all? Did he even CARE?  
  
And that was what hurt. She'd obviously never shown him what she'd felt about him, what she'd wanted. No, she'd been content to hold him at arms length because of the pain he might bring her– it would be more than she could bear. She had lost her family, and her dearest little brother in a terrible accident, leaving her much more dead than alive. She'd hated Inuyasha for saving her, helping her, because she deserved to die. A measly girl who couldn't protect anyone. But he'd shown her another way, and the lecher had shown her (in his usual irritating fashion— the only way he knew) how much he cared.  
  
Oh, she was jealous. Jealous as HELL. She'd have bore his child in an instant if he had just ASKED her in the proper manner....or if he'd just stop looking and fondling other women. She didn't mind if he'd only fondle HER.... And now, clearly, he'd never even think about it ever again. He had what he wanted, and didn't care about her any more.  
  
If only that were true. If, however, the opposite were the case, he would be suffering greatly. Heck, the urge to hurt him...PHYSICALLY was amazingly strong. Pummeling him had always worked to relieve tension and hide her hurt outrage from him before.  
  
Hard thoughts. And here she was, heading back to someplace that she obviously wasn't wanted, to help Inuyasha...and Kagome. The only two people who really cared about her. No, Miroku clearly didn't need any of her help, despite the fact that she'd ignore her damnable pride and give it if he even so much as twitched an eyebrow. She sighed. *Love....I am beginning to hate it. Better turn on the beacon so that nobody thinks I'm a pirate...wouldn't want Ki-san mad at me...*  
  
***  
  
Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't what greeted her. Kagome's face lit up her viewscreen with a sunny smile. "Sango-chan!! I'm so glad to see you! Come right on over when you feel it's safe. I'll go wake up Inuyasha. He has some stuff to talk about with you...Something about finding my sister, I think. See you in a bit?"  
  
Sango had smiled and nodded, ignoring Kagome's look of concern at her rather haggard appearance. "Yeah. Sorry, haven't been getting much sleep lately. Nightmares."  
  
"Oh. That's just like— um, ok. Well, we'll see you in a little bit!! Bye Sango-chan!" Kagome hastily blurted.  
  
Sango couldn't resist a faint smile at Kagome's use of the diminutive "chan" suffix. "By Kagome-chan! I'll see you ASAP." With that, she shut down her comm and commenced the intricate docking dance that one had to do every time with the asteroid.  
  
***  
  
Making her way up the gangway, she was greeted by a cheerful Kagome and a rather sleep-mussed and grouchy Inuyasha. (Who Kagome had probably awoken before she arrived.) He practically barked at her, "I need ta talk to ya about somethin'. Hurry up and get aboard." With that, he stomped off to the mess, and unwontedly serious expression on his face.  
  
Kagome shrugged, and mystified, they both followed him, after closing and locking the hatch.  
  
Upon entering the mess hall, they were greeted with a solemn Inuyasha. "Sit down, Sango. There's something that I need to tell you about. Kagome, would you mind helping Mitty out? He and Ki wanted something delivered. Maybe you can look around while you're doing it. I'm sure you'll be safe with Mitty."  
  
As soon as Kagome had left, he spoke again. "Here's some tea. I wanted you to look at some information." With that, he slid a touch pad across the table and waited while she perused its information. She spoke. "What does this drug affects and interactions stuff about tehneigan? What does this have to do with anything? You're not making any sense here, Inuyasha." He shrugged and took it back from her, saying nonchalantly, "Well, I thought you might like to know what Miroku's been going through. Tehniegan isn't something you play around with casually, you know. It can cause lasting brain damage, ya know."  
  
There was a frozen silence as Sango's shocked eyes met his serious gold ones over the rim of her cup. Her eyes were wide with shock, and her brain starting firing madly. *Brain damage...kidney damage...Heart attacks, intestinal bleeding, ulcers....Oh MY GOD! Those were the side effects that the pad said that techniegan had...* Staring at her cup, she managed weakly, "Wha– What about emotional and psychological effects? Wait, Miroku? What do you mean?"  
  
His eyes bored into hers. "I don't know. I'll have to ask Ki. Miroku's been having nightmares ever since we went and found him. The only thing that I could think of to get the drug out of him was some kind of generic poison treatment, but there isn't really a known cure. He still could die from it. I tried to get most of it out of his system though. I'm immune to the stuff because I'm half-youkai... but Miroku sure isn't. That DAMN Kagura bitch was feeding it to him like candy."  
  
There was another silence. "So....I left him there, without really understanding what was going on? Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he say anything?!!" She was angry– more furious at herself than Inuyasha, but she lashed out at him all the same.  
  
Inuyasha smirked as he stood up. "That's because you were angry at him for jumping into someone elses bed. Now 'cmon, he's been calling out for you for hours. The least you can do is to calm him down so that I don't have to strap him down to the sickbay bunk." With that, he headed out the door, a sputtering and outraged Sango following him.  
  
*I...DAMN YOU INUYASHA! You don't have to act like I'm some sort of idiot female that goes and loses her head over someone who doesn't even look at her twice except to grope her!! ARRRRG!!* With that, they were at sickbay, and she could see him, lying in the bunk, struggling and crying out. "S— sango....no, gomen-neh.....I can't see! Burns...NO! SANGO!! Don't Go! Come back! Can't move my body, won't work...NOOOO!!!"  
  
The anguish of his yells sliced through whatever anger she had held, stabbing her directly in her heart. Hesitantly, she moved to his side and spoke his name. "H-Houshi-sama? M-m-Miroku?" His body was straining against the ropes, his teeth grinding, every muscle and cord in his neck standing out in strain. At the sound of her voice, his body relaxed suddenly, collapsing limply back onto the bed. "SssSango?" His eyes opened slowly. And he blinked blearily at her. "'ts a dream...Sango..."  
  
The longing in his voice was evident, catching her breath in her lungs. Inuyasha snorted and stepped forward. "Hey bouzou. Thought that you might like to say hello to Sango. How're ya feeling, eh– letch?" Miroku shut his eyes in pain. "Bad." was his short answer. He spoke again. "Out, Inu. Leave...." Inuyasha nodded and was out the door before Sango could consider turning and leaving. Miroku's eyes opened again. "Stay. Need... Talk... you." His breaths were uneven, his face a pale sickly color. "Sorry. Did Nothing. Couldn't Move."  
  
She moved closer. "I...It's ok. I just assumed the worst. I didn't even stop to think that you might be coerced against your will. Usually, you're stronger than that ...even if you ARE a letch." She reached out to touch his hand. "Thank... you. Talk more ...later. Stay. Please." With that, his eyes fluttered shut and he fell back into the dark corridors of his dreams.  
  
This time, though, he rested quietly, and she pulled a chair closer to sit by him, reaching out to touch his hand as he sighed. He looked so innocent as he slept, so untroubled by his past.  
  
****  
  
Kagome was determined to finish the "errand" Inuyasha had sent her on quickly. She knew that he had wanted to talk to Sango in private, and had agreed that it would be best for the taciturn young woman if she were occupied elsewhere. So, she located Mitty and agreed to meet him to deliver the Tirillium ore that they had mined to somewhere or other on the asteroid.  
  
It was going to be an interesting adventure– to explore more of the Rimshot. She hadn't seen much of it when they'd gone to rescue Miroku. Little did she know it, but it was going to be much more of an adventure than she could ever anticipate.  
  
Sango had suggested that the other miners might know something about the whereabouts of her sister, and so she had volunteered to make some deliveries with Mitty after talking to Ki. He had urged her to be careful, but agreed that if she was looking for someone, then a good place to get started was all the 'space bums' that hung around the Rimshot. For one thing, all the miners operated in different areas of space– even in the territory of the space dogs and space wolves.  
  
Inuyasha might have to stay a little longer because of the problems he mentioned with Sango and Miroku and a possible drug ring, but she wasn't about to let the time go to waste. What better opportunity to find out about her sister?  
  
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Took me a while to write this, didn't it? Sorry peepz. I got an idea for another story in my head and am doing research on it. (ie: am re-reading treasure island and robinson carusoe-Yipeeee!)  
  
Anywhoo, It will make you all Happy (I'm sure) since I'm putting up TWO (read:2) chapters for you to review. Nice critical or slavishly raving reviews too...those I would appreciate greatly.  
  
So, c'mon, push that little button. You know you wanna!  
  
Everyone's doing it! (my attempt at peer pressure)  
  
Lanenkar  
  
Brought to you, once again, by her sponsors:  
  
Mom (who feeds me...except when she forgets and I hafta feed myself...ahhh, self-sufficiency!)  
  
Black tea/Julie's Green tea (which I steal...keeps me awake)  
  
Ummmm, Chocolate.  
  
Thankyou!  
  
...This has been a Perfect Taco Production (blows the rrRUPPture a kiss!) 


	12. Chapter 11: Green slime is a Turnon? fix

Okay, have you reviewed the last chapter? NO?!?! WHAT THE FRICKIN' BEAN CURDLE ARE YOU DOING READING THIS ONE???!! GO BACK! RRRRRREAD! REVIEW!~! (before I pop a vein...or artery!)  
  
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Rin had spent the week cleaning and fixing the hydroponics tanks. Not only had the job been dirty, but it had been LONG. Finally clean after 30 minutes under the showerhead, she was freshly dressed and headed off for her daily tea with Sesshoumaru-sama. *Having tea with him in the mess is much better. He doesn't relax as much, but he does seem a bit less forbidding...unless the crew approach him about stuff. I'm glad that he agreed to let us have it there.*  
  
She smiled as she walked, greeting the various crewmembers aboard the Toukijin, which she had discovered was the name of the ship she was on. In a week, things had managed to change rather drastically. Well, mostly drastically. Sesshoumaru still bugged her, but only every once in a while, since their daily teas served as a social time for both. In fact, some days, it was the only time that she saw him. She'd talk about everything; her day, her family, what she thought about current interstellar politics (since he now did not filter any news that she received) and feuds... and he'd sit there silently, listening carefully (but not in an obvious fashion) to every word she spoke.  
  
*Three more days, and then we'll reach the Rimshot. And then, he'll escort me to find Kagome. I'm CERTAIN she'll be there...I hope.* Mentally, she began tallying up the things that she'd need to fix the hydroponics tanks. *Lets see, tirillium ore, a fusor duct and a couple yards of platinum tubing, I think. That should be all I need.* Marking it down quickly on her touchpad, she entered the mess with a smile. *But first...time for that tea!!*  
  
Sesshoumaru was already there. When he raised his eyebrow at her, she smiled and said quickly, "I was just making a list of the things that I'll need to fix the hydroponics tanks. Do you think we could pick them up at the Rimshot? There aren't any of them in the ships stores." He simply gestured her into her chair, handed her a tea bowl, and spoke, "I think that is a good idea. It is not wise to have one of the vital functions of my ship not working." his unspoken praise of her good sense remained unsaid as he continued. "Also, the list will give us an opportunity to visit the Rimshot without suspicion, and allow me to search for a few 'old friends' that I need to question."  
  
The way he said 'old friends' implied that they were somewhat less than good friends, but semi-trustworthy. "For one thing, I will endeavor to convince Mitty that I won't kill Inuyasha to get the Tetsusaiga. I have other uses for my brother now." His eyes darkened in color slowly. *For one thing, my arm has re-grown and I need the Tetsusaiga to destroy Naraku before he takes over any more territory— he's becoming a threat. Not to mention that the psitronic arm he gave me tried to kill me, that BASTARD hanyou Naraku! Even my disgusting brother is better than that. He may be only a hanyou, but even HE has more honor than that.*  
  
Rin looked surprized. "Your brother? I didn't know you had one? What's he like?" There was a silent pause, and Sesshoumaru spoke harshly. "NOTHING like me." Rin had to note he sounded almost disgusted, while at the same time, full of pride. She almost snorted. *Huh. Sounds like brotherly love...or sisterly love. Or, the lack thereof.* She forged ahead quickly. "Yeah, you sound a lot like me and my older sister. Kag-chan's a pain in the butt sometimes, but she's always there when I really need her. ...Except for now, since I don't even know where she is." The last was in a shamefaced manner, to distract Sesshoumaru from her assessment of his family.  
  
He wasn't distracted. "You have never met my brother. How would you know what he is like? There are NO similarities." Rin cocked her head and sipped her tea, pausing to retort, "If he has the same strong sense of honor and drive to do what is right, then you are probably EXACTLY alike, however much you dislike to be told so. Why would you dislike praise of your family? Aren't you proud of it? I'm very proud of my family, no matter how stupid they act or what they do. ...Besides, he can't be that bad if your father gave him a ship like your's too? If he's kept anyone from using it to gain power, then he's just like you. You're satisfied to keep peace and only go after those who deserve it. You have power already, and manage it well."  
  
There was a silence, and Sesshoumaru sat there, with a shocked look in his eyes. Quickly, to avoid saying something he'd regret, he took a gulp of tea, and almost spit it out at the PAIN it caused. He couldn't say anything then, with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, while sucking in gasps of air to cool his scalded throat. Rin, unable to restrain herself, started laughing and graced him with a beautiful smile. His head felt muzzy, with the sound of her laughter (the first he had heard) ringing in his ears and filling his heart. "It's nice to see that you ARE vulnerable to silly things like hot water, though those augumentations sometimes make it hard...aha ha ha ha!!" With that, she leaned over and in a daring fashion gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Aha ha– it's ok, it'll get better! Aha ha ha HA I promise!! A kiss to make it better!"  
  
He was stunned, frankly. She'd KISSED him. On the CHEEK. A faint red tint coloured his high, perfect cheekbones. He realized quickly that his men had been watching, and hanging on to all ov Rin's actions..with evident glee. Quickly he shot a murderous look around the room, discouraging their interest before softening his expression to look at Rin again, who was still giggling slightly, staring into her tea bowl and blushing bright red. His right hand reached up to brush the spot where her lips had touched. *She is soft....and warm....smells so GOOD.*  
  
He didn't even realize that he had smiled. His men, pointedly ignoring him after his unspoken threat, didn't either. Rin did, darting a quick glance at his face, to catch warm gold eyes gently looking at her as they crinkled up in the corners and his teeth flashed a perfect smile. The moment was quickly covered, when he took another more cautious sip of his tea and quickly slid his emotionless mask in place. Their tea continued in silence then, and her parting words as she walked out the door, escorted by Sesshoumaru were simply, "You should do that more!"  
  
How did she always manage to get him to do ridiculous things like that around her? It was almost like the time that he'd found her cleaning out the hydroponics tanks, and ended up helping her, and getting into an algae-flinging fight that resulted in an even bigger mess and an hour of bathing to get the muck out of his hair. None of the men had said a word about the incident when he walked by them in the halls however, and he dreaded to think about what they had said about it when he wasn't around.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
"Damn, this stuffs gross. How the heck could so much grow in here? I would've thought it would cause the tank to explode from the inside out! Stupid....GRRRSHIT!" Rin growled. Her scraping tool slipped, slicing off a huge section of the muck right on top of her head. She let out a groan.  
  
"If that's a new type of green fashion hat I'm unaware of, be so good as to tell me, Rin." This voice startled her, and she turned to see Sesshoumaru, immaculate as always, regarding her with amusement. She made an outraged noise, and retaliated against his smug superiority in the only way she could, by scooping a ton of the muck onto HIS head...and so the match went on.  
  
Until both were found, grinning and dumping goop over each other by Ahn, who hesitantly spoke from outside the tank. "Ummm, milord? There's somebody who wants to talk to you on the comm..." Sesshoumaru, inches away from kissing the fuming Rin, who he'd wrestled to the floor and tickled mercilessly, swore, and strode out, ready to kill the man for interrupting him. Leaving a rather flustered and confused Rin to resume her scraping duties with a red-cheeked vengeance.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
Not that he could stop himself. She was so easy to be lighthearted around. So cheerful, and lovely and bright, with her shiny black hair and lovely brilliant eyes... She needed a mate soon, or somebody'd claim her against her will, and he wasn't sure that would make him happy. Or extremely displeased, at least. She needed someone happy and able to challenge her. Not like him. "Someone with a heart." he muttered as he walked down the halls after delivering Rin chivalrously to her room.  
  
Strangely enough, that made his chest hurt, with a pang that he couldn't ignore.  
  
When was the last time his heart had hurt?   
  
When he was younger, he'd played with the little girls from his father's business partner. Actually, he'd been forced– no, ordered to take care of them for the afternoon while his parents went over business that he'd rather have been discussing himself. The younger child, barely even a baby, had toddled over to him, with tears pooling in her eyes, grabbed his pelt and cried "FLUFFY!" entranced and bursting into a joyous smile. Somehow, he'd been unable to detach the little midget, and had then been pressed by both sets of parents to look after "the kids"—his ten year old brother and the two little girls.  
  
His ten year old brother and the older five-year old child had been chasing each other around, laughing. He had simply sat, and the tiny black-haired girl had crawled onto his lap and chattered at him in baby speech, punctuated with cries of "Fluffy soft!...Like flowers, fluffy?...hungry fluffy!" and other childish nonsense. She'd eventually fallen asleep, trusting him completely. He'd been unwilling to disturb her, and had carefully picked her up with one arm and carried her with him to get some food from the refreshers. His parents had found him there, and his mom had somehow snapped a damning picture of him and the girl.   
  
He'd been strangely happy the second she had fallen asleep on him, completely trusting. Strange how he'd remember the girl now...Who had she been again? His memory was not cooperating, because of the pain in his chest. Quickly, he headed back toward his room. Maybe he had kept the photograph?  
  
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"OH MY GAWWWWD. My sister, a raging psycho"--the jules. (she speaks from experience) Awww, isn't fluffy cute? He'd be cuter if y'all would review.... (review me anyways).  
  
Your fav. Gaki-chan,  
  
Lanenkar  
  
...we're gettin' to the good stuff...next chapter, i think...when i'm able to think... 


	13. Chapter 12: Crazy Driving and, um, Whups

Okay all, Lanenkar made a stupid bakaleru mistake last chapter. With the whole ages thing: Inu was 10, 'Gome-chan was five, Rin three or two or something. (or maybe four?) So, please ignore the stupidity, and I'll go fix it eventually. Oh, and my marvelous fluffy was about 15...so a five year age gap with little bro. Howzzat sound, eh? And Thankyou for the reviews...I went and read that other story someone mentioned, and I hafta put it in my favorites, I think. Anywhoo, enjoy this chappie. It took me a while.   
  
...Look, Ma--- ACTION!!  
  
(Listen to: Michael Jackson's "You Rock My World")  
  
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Mitty's ancient music player was blaring. Kagome didn't care, even though she couldn't understand what exactly the singer was saying. What the heck did "Jus' gimme da laaahf" mean? She shrugged internally and hung on for dear life as Mitty maneuvered the rickety ore transport-hover car around other people, objects, and piles of ore, barely missing some as he shouted above the whine of the engines and the music. "So, how'dja end up with that ungrateful dog Inuyasha, eh?!"  
  
Kagome tried to ignore the odd smells (no, stenches) of the area around them. She coughed and her eyes watered when they traveled through a cloud of rock dust from some other haulers offload chute. She managed to croak out, "Um, I threatened him with a gun...." before her voice failed her as Mitty careened insanely around a corner, nearly sideswiping another hauler, and causing her knuckles to whiten on the door handles. "THAT'S GREAT. HANG ON, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!!" With that, the hover engines failed (due to their rough treatment) and they skidded into the large hangar bay, engines smoking. "Damn! Bloody thing~! I just fixed it yesterday!"   
  
Kagome couldn't help but snap sarcastically, "That could be because you drive like a PSYCHO~!!!" Mitty was already leaning over the opened engine compartment, his face covered quickly in soot as the engine belched out a last cloud of dark smoke. "Eh? Whassat? Who're you? Eh? Ah....well, do me a favor and deliver the ore while I fix this, eh?" Incensed, Kagome couldn't help "accidentally" kicking the engine cover, causing it to fall and wack Mitty on the head. *He deserved that!* she thought with malicious glee *I don't know if I'll ever be able to ride in an ore hauler ever again!!* He simply rubbed his head absentmindedly and continued working. "Eh...Whassat? Oh, funny– that thing. It jumped out and attacked me...hhuuu...." She rolled her eyes and reached for the clipboard of deliveries. *Baka! What's with this guy anyhow?!?*  
  
With that, she started to read. "Space dogs, three kilos of tirillium ore...space wolves, 18,000 kilos of steel. And then we're done for the day...No way I'm doing the space wolves one–I wouldn't want to get to close to them. Huh...lessee....hangar 46...space-waaaaaitasecond. Space dogs?!! Weren't they the ones that attacked the wolves? Weird. Maybe they'll know something about my sister..." With that, she headed toward the station computer to find out the berth for the space dogs ship.   
  
It took her only 15 minutes to find the berth, load up the ore, and walk over. On her way, she passed a group of rowdy men playing some sort of game with a ball. There was a sudden shout of "Lookout!" and when she instinctively ducked, the ball flew toward the cart, knocking off the ore. She practically snarled in frustration. Straightening up, she shoved her hands onto her hips and practically exploded. "Why don't you watch it, you stupid jerks! I'm trying to do my FUCKING JOB here!!! Why don't you go play in the rec center, you jackasses!!!"  
  
The nearest player walked over, and stood glowering almost like a giant wolf over her. "Hmmm, a feisty one we have here. I like it. I think I'll keep her. My woman!" The anger abruptly left, and panic remained. *I know that voice...it's the one of the pirates that were attacking us!! Shit!*  
  
She didn't know that the disruption of her errand would be her salvation.  
  
****  
  
Rin sighed in discouragement next to him. After a full day of searching, they hadn't managed to squeeze anything out of any of the miners they had talked to, but it didn't help his patience to know that. Miners were the most taciturn and loyal group— they'd rather die than reveal anything to any other spacer that wasn't a miner, despite Rin's innocent presence and pleas, or his threats. *Damnit. This is so frustrating. I want her to be happy, and all we've managed to do is get her hopes up and then make her sad.*  
  
They were almost to their berth when they spotted the space wolves, playing soccer. Their ball went flying away when Sesshoumaru shot one of them a dangerous glare, tugging Rin behind him. The ball smacked into an ore hauler nearby, and the presumed owner began yelling angrily, "Why don't you watch it, you stupid jerks! I'm trying to do my FUCKING JOB here!!! Why don't you go play in the rec center, you jackasses!!!" He heard Rin gasp in mindless panic, "It's Kagome! Sesshoumaru-sama, help her please, those are the wolves that attacked us before!!"  
  
He didn't say a word, just stepped forward at the end of the stupid little wolves speech. "I don't think so, Kouga. This one is mine. Her duty is to me, since she is delivering the ore that I asked for. Besides, you don't need another woman. I heard you lost Kagura after one night to some priest fellow. A shame he vanished. I would have liked to ask him about his 'technique'." This was said in the coldest voice he could muster, and a slight smirk graced his impassive face. Rin could've sworn she saw frost forming on the wolfman. The man's cheeks darkened in anger.  
  
The wolfman whirled with a snarl, and replied heatedly. "Stay outta this, dogbreath! She's MY woman now!" Abruptly, he slumped to the floor, as Kagome brought the clipboard smashing down over his head, breaking it in two and rendering him unconscious. His mouth quirked upward in a small smile for just a second, and amusement shone in her eyes, as she spoke. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need any help defending myself." Silently, he tilted his head to the left in calm acknowledgment of her skill, and he stepped forward again, without turning, and said threateningly to the other space wolves. "Weren't you wolves leaving? I expect you have things to do." His "things to do" implied something along the lines of them playing with themselves or squishing themselves into the deck. With that, he allowed two other wolves to step forward and drag their fallen leader, while he stood there, as Rin darted around him and launched herself at the woman in front of her.  
  
"Kag-chan!!" came her deafening squeal. "You're alright!" The two were laughing and crying and talking so fast that he felt like his ears were going to bleed. Unnoticed, his hand flew up to make sure. *Nope, no blood yet.* He interrupted. "Rin, speak with her inside. I also wish to speak with her when you are done. I will get Jaken to load the ore."  
  
With that, he walked off. How strange it was, to see that the two siblings actually LIKED each other. He could barely remember a time when he and his brother had acted in such a way–like real brothers. *I wish...that I could have something like that...but no, no– Naraku destroyed any hope for that. My only hope is to find Tetsusaiga and destroy Naraku, and then my brother will be free from that...MONSTER.*  
  
***flashback***  
  
They had been attacked!  
  
True, his mother and father had instructed the teenage boys to be careful and not stray to far into the asteroid belt nearby, but in the spirit of brotherly competition, they had strayed farther than they originally intended. Just far enough, it seemed, for the asteroid raiders to come out of nowhere!! He remembered the dogfight, and trying desperately to protect his brother, and then a single wrong move, to save his brothers life....he'd run right into a displacer beam! He could survive it, since he had full augumentations, but his brother couldn't.  
  
There was a stunning, searing, BLINDING flash and then there was none.  
  
When he awoke, he was tied down in a dark room. A single panel showed another room, well lit in comparison. Inside sat his brother, talking with... Naraku?? Sesshoumaru had always regarded that horrible hanyou as inferior, as underhanded. But never his BROTHER! Despite being annoying and probably the only one to challenge him and bring him out of his icy shell, his brother was his best and ONLY friend. To all but his brother, Sesshoumaru had always been colder and meaner than the frostiest icicle in hell. His brother, on the other hand, was his complete opposite: sometimes a complete and utter mystery hidden in a veil of fiery obscenities. But why? Why was Inuyasha talking to Naraku and...saying those things...  
  
"Stupid older brother of mine. He doesn't give a damn about anyone. He hates my guts, because I'm half-youkai. Why didn't you kill him? I thought you said that a well-placed disrupter blast would do the trick!!" Naraku replied, with a greasy smile, "Not so fast, young man. There are still obstacles to overcome. For one thing, your parents must be killed, and then your brother must be finished off—perhaps for the murder of your parents? Hmmm, I Like that one!! What do you think, huh?"  
  
Inuyasha grinned–just GRINNED. "Sounds great. About time someone showed that arrogant ass what hanyou's are capable of!" Sesshoumaru couldn't take it anymore. With an incredible snarl, he broke the restraints and crashed through the glass to confront them. "INUYASHA....What is the meaning of this?!!" Inuyasha turned, surprized, his smile slightly...wrong. "Why, older brother, can't you guess? I've hated your guts since the day I was born, you stupid arsehole!"  
  
The world was going red. Sesshoumaru didn't hesitate. He leaped for Naraku, killing him in one swipe. "This is all YOUR fault, you bastard!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!!??" In the heat of the moment, a detached portion of his mind registered that his brother had drawn his sword and stabbed him in the back with it. The world became dark again...  
  
***end flashback***  
  
He didn't know how he'd escaped, but he knew that the world, the tender world where his heart had begun to blossom again was shattered with his brother's betrayal. His surprize was complete when he found his parents at his (injured?) younger brother's side, and his brother had smelled of fear and hatred...toward him. Then had come their bitter duel, each accusing the other of betrayal, and the loss of his arm to his younger brother.  
  
His brother had vanished soon after that, completely disappearing, to his parent's grief. His stepmother had been particularly devastated by the hatred between her sons. And then, their parents had died soon afterwards, ambushed in a space battle with competing pirate groups that were out for revenge against his father. And the bitterest knowledge of all was that if his brother had been there, his parents would have been saved— would have fought to save themselves. His betrayal and anger grew, and it was all he could do to disassociate himself with his father's transport company, leaving it in the capable hands of Higurashi on his orders as the controlling interest stockholder, and take over his father's old pirate group, the space dogs, trying to find his father's killers and annihilate them completely.   
  
His true burning desire, however, had been to kill Naraku for brainwashing and turning his brother against him. He had concluded that if the only way to restore his brother to normalcy after doing THAT was to kill him using his father's ultimate ship, the Tetsusaiga, he would do it! He would never tell anyone, but he was glad that his brother had hidden from him, and had never been found. It gave him more time to kill Naraku and discover how his brother had been manipulated. Much as he cursed himself, part of him wanted his brother to survive, to be happy, until a time when he could beat the answers out of him for his betrayal. That, and the arm thing. It'd taken him quite a while to get it regrown, and it had hurt like HELL in the time between. It still ached every once in a while. (He liked to think that it did when he got close to finding his brother.)  
  
He knew he hadn't been the same since the betrayal— "The ICE KING" was his other nickname besides "Destroyer of all life." Trust his first mother (whom had died at his birth) to name him something strange like that. He had suffered silently, until the strangest thing had happened to him: a feisty young woman had come into his life and left it upside down! Rin, truth be told, had occupied his thoughts more than was proper lately, and he'd been having bizarre nightmares and dreams of a more...illicit... nature about her. He'd even woke up with tears on his face– the first time he'd EVER cried after reliving Inuyasha's betrayal...but Inu's face had suddenly morphed into Rin's in the middle of his dream.  
  
And then her sister just HAD to show up. Now Rin'd probably go with her and he'd never have any excuse to see her ever again. She'd leave the ice-hearted, indifferent pirate without a second glance, get married to some random company flunkie and raise a brood of kids, without ever thinking of him again.  
  
NO! That couldn't happen. He wouldn't LET her sister take her. Rin was HIS! ...HIS MATE!!  
  
And that thought made him pause. Since when had he decided that Rin was going to be his mate? He hadn't even given her a chance to choose. He didn't have a clue whether she'd want him at all anyhow. *Damnnit, I don't care! I want her! I...need her! What choice do I have???*  
  
There was no choice. He couldn't let her go. He'd insist on it, even if she hated him in the end. If she left, he would no longer have a soul. Silently, he girded himself, his gut tightening with true fear even as he gave bored directions to Jaken to load the ore and made his way to the dining room where the two siblings were sitting. One foreign to him, the other infinitely more dear.  
  
The two looked up as he came in. Rin smiled at him. Strangely enough, his arm began to ache.  
  
****  
  
"I can't believe you're allright! What happened to you??" Was their first question to each other, breathlessly blurted out at the same time. They both laughed then, and Rin suggested quickly, "Why don't we have some tea, and you can fill me in... and then I'll fill you in?" Kagome agreed with a smile as they entered the ship, with her following Rin.  
  
They both got cups of tea, and Kagome proceeded to give her sister a rapid but detailed update on her activities during the past few months, ending with, "I can't believe the pirates picked you up! I was really angry at Inuyasha for a while because I thought he'd dumped everyone in a star...and that you hadn't been found and were floating helpless in space somewheres, running out of oxygen." Rin nodded. "Actually, the pirates aren't so bad. They treat me really well– sort of like a delinquent little sister... and I have a really important job to do! They trust me a lot!"  
  
Kagome couldn't help but smile. She hadn't seen that particular light in her sister's eyes for ages. Rin was happy–truly happy amongst the pirates. "They're very honorable men." Rin protested quickly, misinterpreting Kagome's smile. "I know. The space dogs do have that reputation...that and the fact that their honor is ruthlessly enforced by their leader...by the way, who's the hottie? I don't think I've ever seen you hide... behind someone so...cute before. Heck, I don't think I've ever seen my ballsy lil' sis hide behind ANYONE before..."  
  
Rin's face practically looked like she was having a nuclear meltdown between her ears...it was so red, she'd probably have to put burn creme on it— something that Kagome mentioned with glee when her sister sputtered incoherently. Quickly, Kagome added, "I like him, actually. He didn't even blink an eye when I smashed that idiot over the head." Rin coughed uncomfortably. "Probably because I did something like that to him when we were practicing fighting once...of course, I hit him with a much thicker board...." Kagome grinned then. "You must really like him then, if you hit him full power and didn't hold back. You only do that with people you like. I should know...." With that, she reached up and rubbed her head ruefully as Rin laughed half indignantly. "You acting helpless and letting someone protect you like that... I can only conclude that you've lost your heart...Haven't you?"  
  
Rin quickly rushed to distract her from her accurate observations *Mou–how can I be so transparent! She managed to figure it out in less than five minutes!!* "Y-you like that Inuyasha guy, don't you? What...what's he like?" Kagome's face was red, but she persisted, shaking her finger at Rin. "Don't try and distract me, you goose! I've known you for too long...I know you wouldn't just fall in love with anyone. He seems cold, but I bet you know differently...Do you want to stay with him?"  
  
This caught Rin completely by surprize, and left her with her mouth hanging open for a second. Kagome took the opportunity to observe that Rin was doing a credible imitation of a flytrap (^0^), and sipped her tea, waiting for Rin's answer. Rin looked down at her lap. "I...I want to stay. I'm important here, and I have a job to do...daddy and mommy love us, I know, but I don't think I was really comfortable with all the parties and things they had us doing. I know that you didn't like them either, because the people were so shallow. Here....with... well, HERE I feel useful. Nobody sees me as anything other than myself, and I'm judged on my abilities alone. Despite a few infuriating insinuations to the contrary...."  
  
That was exactly what Kagome wanted to hear. "Good, because I was going to advise you to stay here too. Mum and Dad can manage the company well enough, though I still worry about them. I want to get rid of that horrible Naraku fellow though. He's caused us so much trouble and pain. He deserves to be thrown in jail!! ...For the time being, do you think we could contact Mum and Dad and tell them that we're going to lay low for a while? It'd be safer than making ourselves targets." This earned her a look of slight confusion from Rin. "Targets? Why, do you think that they're being attacked because of us?" Kagome nodded. "I'm not sure why yet, but I'm sure you and your hot pirate can find out..." came Kagome's mischievous reply.  
  
Then, Kagome sobered suddenly. "Seriously Rin, if he makes you happy, then I'm glad you found him. Be gentle with him though, he looks like the type that's been hurt before and might break easier than others...his heart has been hurt badly." There was a silent pause, and Rin snorted into her tea. "Sometimes, sistada, you're so strange. I can't imagine ANYTHING hurting him." Kagome just rolled her eyes. "And I want to meet that Inuyasha guy. I don't think I've ever seen you so...goobery over some guy... even if he is a 'annoying, selfish, loud, rude prick'!"  
  
Both of them laughed at Kagome's description, knowing that she really liked the man. Silently they drank their tea, content to sit together again in peace. The silence ended when Sesshoumaru walked into the room, looking distracted.  
  
Rin smiled, and Kagome couldn't help but smile too. Quickly, Rin stood and grabbed the man's hand, leading him over to the table and pulling on him to make him sit. With that, she went over to get him a cup of tea, leaving him to stare at Kagome. She smiled, somehow sensing his inner discomfort and spoke. "Rin wants to stay, and I thought it'd be a good idea too. She said she was needed here. We thought it'd be best to lay low and avoid Naraku's attention, since he's been trying to kill our parents. Right, Rin?" Rin nodded as she sat down and handed him the tea. "Yeah, that sounds about right."  
  
Sesshoumaru just sat there, inwardly stunned. She wasn't going to try to take Rin away? He couldn't get his brain to work for a second. Then, a colder chill hit his gut. She was probably going to make some sort of conditions....He'd seen this happen before. But all she added was, "Take care of her, ok? I don't want anything bad to happen to her." With that, Rin quickly changed the subject, saying, "Can you think of a way to contact our parents without revealing where we are? Kagome doesn't want to cause any trouble, and neither do I." Neither asked him if it was okay, assuming that he would agree. Well, he certainly wasn't going to disagree!!  
  
Kagome could hear his thoughts. *Rin can stay...She can STAY! She's not going to take her away!!!* She spoke again. "Didn't I just say that she WANTED to stay.....Sesshoumaru?" Rin looked at Kagome in shock. She hadn't even introduced the two yet! How had Kagome known his name?? Sesshoumaru's eyes widened too. *You have the ability to hear the thoughts of others, Miko-san? I did not know you would be capable of the stillness of mind needed to do it. I am only able to do it with the help of my augumentations.* Kagome simply sipped her tea and replied silently. *I AM a Miko. And Rin has the ability too. It's just repressed. With the right urging, her gift for mindspeech could be very strong when it emerges.*  
  
She smiled sunnily then. Rin looked confused, and asked quickly, "Umm, Kag-chan, about the guy you're staying with... won't he get worried if you stay too long? He doesn't exactly seem like the most patient type..." Kagome sighed in agreement. "You're right, he isn't. He can be such a pain in the butt. I'd better get back to Mitty too. Can you and Sess-san figure out how to contact Mum and Dad? Just call me from the main computer if you need to get in contact with me. I don't think Inuyasha will mind THAT much." With that she rose and was stowing her empty teacup away when Sesshoumaru's shocked voice broke in. "I-Inuyasha?! Where IS he? What is he DOING? Is he ALRIGHT? How did you meet him?! Where is the TETSUSAIGA?!!"  
  
Kagome turned to find Sesshoumaru glaring at her fiercely from less than six inches away. "He picked me up when the ship blew – I was in my escape pod. He's just fine, very angry at Naraku...hates that guy's guts actually. He won't tell me much about it. He has lots of bad dreams though. He seems to dream a lot about his brother betraying him...anyhow, the only Tetsusaiga I know is the rusty old sworn hanging up in his ship. ...Why? Did you used to know him or something?"  
  
Rin coughed. "Ummm, Kag-chan? Inuyasha IS his BROTHER."  
  
There was a pointed silence and Kagome stepped back and said weakly, "Oh."  
  
She didn't even realize that she was at the door in the next instant and babbling rapidly. "Um, well, don't go and do anything stupid now... I'd better get back to helping Mitty. Call when you need me, ok, Rin-chan?" With that, she whirled and ran out the door, and Rin restrained Sesshoumaru from following. "I think there's some stuff that you need to tell me. What happened between you and Inuyasha? Kagome said that he felt as though his older brother betrayed HIM...with Naraku."  
  
Sesshoumaru sighed and nodded. "Very well. Since you have decided to stay, I shall tell you."  
  
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Hubba hubba! BOYAH! SHA-WING! HOT DIGGITY! Another chapter down, and more tricky shit to go! Keep reading, ya'll! I'm writing as fast as I can...well, not really.  
  
Buuuuut, now it's time for that special liddle button down on the left that says,  
  
"I LOVE LANENKAR!!!"  
  
Well, okay, it doesn't, but hey, gimme some love anyways and REVIEW!!  
  
Lanenkar  
  
Ps: Do you guys know what a Gaki is? whoever reviews soonest with the right answer wins a PRIZE!!! (shameless, aren't i?) 


	14. Chapter 13: Man, Dog and Cat

*Siiiigh* Sorry this took me so long... No wait, Screw that~! It takes me a while to write, because I want it to be GOOD! Something I can be proud of, ya know? Anyhow, here is the next chappie...And then, the brothers are gonna have some good ol' CONFRONTATION! Yeah, I know. Amazing, eh? Me doing action. I Kind of favor stories that miror reality-- ie: things change and we don't even realize it until it's too late, and we're trapped in situations we can barely control because we didn't make a decision to be prepared...somewhere along the lines. So, here you go!!  
  
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Inuyasha sighed as he sat in the dark control room with Ki and Max. The stars burned brightly outside the large viewplate, making him feel very small. He had come over at the other man's request, since Ki had stated he had dug up some vital information on the whole fiasco with Miroku, and about Kagome. It wasn't like he was as obsessed as Kagome in finding her sister, but he was rather obsessed with having Kagome around. Selfish as it might be, he wanted her to stay with him, even if she only stayed for a little while longer. He had to admit that at least SOME of his intentions were pure; he DID want to help her find her family. Unfortunately for him, his family was lost to him. Or at least, what was left of it was.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
He and his brother had become distant that last year. His brother had been finishing up his studying in the University and he had been finishing up high school and entering university himself that year. When they had gone out in the fighter ships, and had been acting like old times– goofing off, mock fighting each other. When the attack came from out of the asteroid belt, both had been surprised. Why would anyone attack two fighter ships? What could they possibly hope to gain?  
  
But the battle had been joined, and they fought together, holding the raiders off, until a single mistake had caused his ship to be crippled and his brother to try to protect him...they had been overwhelmed, and then his memories became fuzzy until they became clear again...  
  
When he awoke, he was tied down in a dark room. A single panel showed another room, well lit in comparison. Inside sat his brother, talking with... Naraku?? His cold, often remote brother Sesshoumaru was talking to Naraku like a best friend?!? What the hell was going on?? Sesshoumaru never talked to anyone except him like that. Even their father was treated with the same cold courtesy as everyone else. And here, here was his brother, saying...what?  
  
"Why didn't you kill the damned hanyou, Naraku? And to fire that displacer beam so close to me. Who were you trying to fool. I thought you loved me, beloved? Look, just kill the hanyou, Ok? We don't need him, or my parents. Hmmm?" With that, his brother leaned over and KISSED?!! Naraku? The HELL!!? He was furious. His brother wasn't like that! This wasn't real! It was a fake! What the hell did Naraku think, trying to trick him like this?!  
  
With a furious snarl, he broke his restraints and then smashed through the glass panel. "SESSHOUMARU! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON, YOU JERK!?" His brother turned, surprised, his smile slightly...wrong and purred (What the heck? His brother would NEVER deign to speak like that, even to him!) cruelly, "Why, little brother, can't you guess? I've hated your guts since the day I was born, you insignificant worm of a human! Tainted blood, so disgusting!" With a sneer he turned away, back to Naraku. "Lover, the little hanyou is becoming upset. Get rid of him for me, won't you? I wouldn't want to have to face my 'parents' with his dirty blood on my hands."  
  
Inuyasha lost it. Yanking his sword out, he leaped for naraku, missing and hitting a console. His brother just crossed his arms and leaned against the bed watching. Whirling quickly, he lashed out, smashing into a support and causing the ceiling to start breaking. Furious, he used one of his father's succession techniques. "KAZE NO KIZU!" and the ceiling fell. He couldn't see his brother, but Naraku scrambled out the hole in the wall into the hall, and he chased him, screaming. "I hate you! I HATE YOU! GODDAMNIT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER, HUH??"  
  
Abruptly, Naraku stopped and faced him. "I? I did nothing. You should know better, hanyou. And you should watch your back more." With that, Inuyasha felt his brothers? Claws ripping into him. Mocking laughter followed him down into unconsciousness. "Stupid brother of mine. You think I'd let you hurt my lover? Foolish ahou."  
  
***end flashback***  
  
He'd only just managed to escape, and rigged the whole place to blow...and ran until he collapsed and was found by a tramp frieghter (aka smuggler) named Kiyonneh... who took him back to his parents. When his brother returned, he was furious, and fought with him, accusing him of betraying their parents...and his brother accusing him of stabbing him in the back. Strange, how his brother had been wrong. After all, Sesshoumaru was the one who stabbed HIM in the back...literally.  
  
When his parents had died, he'd fled. There was no telling what his brother would do to kill him and take over the company. So, he'd given his shares in trust to his father's friend, Higurashi, and run like a bat out of hell...back to Kiyonneh, who he'd convinced to teach him the trade of smuggling...and mining. Ki had been born on a mining colony on the outer rim, after all, and knew space like the back of his hand. Even the space between the stars and galaxies was home for the old smuggler.  
  
And then, when he'd gotten good enough to go out on his own, Ki had decided to settle down on his own (with a little help from the escapades the two got into) and start running a spacer refit station. With a few hefty credits, they'd designed the place and found the perfect planetoid asteroid to stick it in. It had almost been like old times to use his engineering skills to create something useful and sturdy. Just like when he had been in the spacer academy/university....  
  
He blinked again, coming out of his reverie when he realized Kiyonneh was talking to him again. "Uh? Sorry, Ki, I was thinking." Ki laughed and moved closer. "Must be hard for you, eh? Since that pretty little thing named Kagome is around a lot. Heck, I'D have trouble keeping my thoughts in line around that one!" His laugher made Inuyasha's cheeks burn, because he HAD been thinking about her, but not in a perverted way like THAT! "ShaddAP! I wasn't thinking about THAT, you old perv! I was thinking about finding her family..."  
  
Ki grinned. "What about your family? Have you given up on getting rid of that Naraku fellow? Because I'd say that you now have a double reason to do so." His face was suddenly unwontedly serious. Inuyasha searched his eyes. "What do you mean? You said that you had some information, right? How could it possibly relate to me." Ki couldn't resist another jab. "Besides the fact that you're ass over head in love with the girl? Well..." Max chose that moment to speak to both of them in his silent way. **Show him the information Ki...no tease Inu...hasn't claimed mate yet.** Ki rolled his eyes and sighed. "Bossy know-it-all. Alright, king Max, I will. Here." With that he pulled a screen console over, and began showing Inuyasha all sorts of things.  
  
Inuyasha was puzzled. They were headlines from major newspapers, from several years ago. "A medical break-in? Stolen DNA? Illegal cloning experiments taking place in Galactic Central? I don't get it? What does it mean?" There was more too. Reports by the stellar patrol of drug rings and corruption investigations into members of the Galactic governing body. Suspicious reports of clandestine industries on a lunar colony that Naraku owned... It all made no sense, until Ki cleared his throat and explained. "I thought that you should see these. I had a brush up with the drug rings and Naraku's secret empire back when I was still a new smuggler– so I kept track of every bit of dirt I could find out about them. The rest of the stuff I found after you'd gone off on your own...after the debacle with that Kikyo girl. My theory is that she's an illegal clone."  
  
Inu couldn't help but be a little incredulous. "And just HOW do you draw THAT damning information??!!" Ki pointed to the medical break-in article. "There...see? There's a listing of the people who had DNA or other things stolen from the vault. Kagome's name is on there, despite the fact that she was only a child. Someone really wanted her stuff bad. She was one of the only three people victimized. The other two are her parents." There was a short silence. Inuyasha considered carefully. "So...for some reason, somebody wanted a clone of her. I wonder why?"  
  
"Or they just wanted something that they thought her parents were hiding. Supposedly when she was born, some cuckoo prophet from Amphira said she'd be the one to carry the Shikon. Nothing ever came of that anyhow." Inuyasha stood stunned. "The SHIKON!!?? Wait, what? The dreadnaught that Koniji the warlord created with the help of the Miko Midoriko? The one that's supposed to blow up whole solar systems? THAT SHIKON??" He stared at Ki, apalled. Ki shrugged apologetically. "So far the whole thing's been a bust. Nothing ever came out of the whole debacle, so Kagome sort of faded out of sight...in a way. She started Miko training and began helping her father with his transport company. Just goes to show what one psycho can do to your life if he has it in his head that you're some kind of god or something."  
  
Inuyasha nodded. "After all, the Shikon has been a sort of ultimate myth for the longest time. Supposedly, Midoriko kept it from being used, and brought peace to much of the Galaxy, but when others began to fight and try to kill her and take control of it, she shattered it into pieces and gave the pieces away, hiding them. No-one has ever been able to find them, but if one could just build another instead of reassembling the original....then they'd be able to make themselves ruler of the Galaxy! So a lot of people got scared." Inuyasha shook his head. "It all sounds so bizarre– like some sort of crazy conspiracy theory: DNA robbery, illegal cloning, drug rings, bizarre ringleaders like Kanna and Kagura...and then Kagome...and that other bitch. This still doesn't make sense, Ki. What about the attempts on her parent's lives?"  
  
Ki frowned in agreement. "I don't know about that either. The only reasons that I could come up with would be that Naraku wants their business, and wants to be able to manipulate Kagome and her sister through their parents. He's not a nice man. I'd say he's probably the only truly evil person I've ever really encountered. And Miroku's situation, I think, is part of Narku's drug ring schemes again. This Kagura sounds like one of Naraku's 'leftenants' in his empire-building schemes. Make no mistake, that bastard is the ruler of the galactic underworld. Even my Rimshot hasn't managed to completely avoid his clutches. After this though, I'm going to crack down on the recreation decks."  
  
Inuyasha grimaced in agreement, and couldn't help muttering, "Sucks to be you, old man." that earned him a glare from Ki and the equivalent of a laugh from Max, who had been mostly silent. **Inuyasha need to protect not-yet-mate Kagome. Naraku want her. You want her more .** This earned a snort from Ki. "Yeah, Inu-CHAN. What's the problem with you and Kagome, eh? Parts not working correctly?" Obviously he was getting a few digs in out of annoyance with himself, and Inuyasha's usual rude comments. Ki waggled his eyebrows suggestively, smiling lewdly. "If she were mine, boy, I'd have claimed her already. I can only conclude you're a wimp!" Inuyasha glared at him and roared back in their usual fashion, "I AM NOT A WIMP, GODDAMN IT! AND DON'T CALL ME '-CHAN'!!"   
  
Usually, the two would always yell and howl at each other, even when Inuyasha had been Ki's student/smuggler. Max rolled his eyes in a catlike manner and walked over to Ki, demanding with his claws and butting Kiyonneh with his large head. **SCRATCH ME.** Ki, distracted, didn't hear the cat's comment to Inuyasha. **Go back to ship. Will talk later. No fighting. Ki getting to old for it. Protect mate.** Growling his annoyance, Inuyasha shot Ki a glare. "This ain't over old man. I ain't takin' no more shit from you. I gotta protect—I mean, I got things to think about...so I'll think on whatcha told me and talk to ya later."  
  
With that, he stomped away, back to his ship. Ki shot Max an accusing glare. "Hey, you interrupted us just when it was gettin' fun, ya durn cat. Humpf!" But this was said with affection. "I hope Inu'll be ok. He's gotta lot to think about. I'll send him all the information so he can go over it on his own." Max rumbled a purr in agreement, causing Ki's brain to feel like it was rattling in his skull. **...Good scratches...Ki scratch best next to Inuyasha...** The old smuggler-turned outpost owner absently nodded, scratching the cat obligingly.  
  
*Good luck to the both of them. They've got a hard road, if he really does want to protect her.*  
  
Max simply nodded, eyes serious and prodded Ki for more scratches.  
  
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I don't like cats. Amazing, isn't it? Mostly because they pee and poop all over the lawn, and pee on the plants (which die, of course) and yowl and fight at night in our backyard. Humpf. But I really like Max. I named him after a cat that lives at the Isthmus at Catalina Island. Biiig ol' fat cat---sits like a king in the visitor's center...in the sun. Has anyone else reading this gone to Catalina? Lemme know, k?!!  
  
Ja neh~!  
  
Your fav. Gaki-chan,  
  
Lanenkar  
  
(wow, i'm really random today. Ah well, no rest for the weary. Must write more now!) 


	15. Chapter 14: I'm not helpless, YOU are!

4LLR16|-|7 Peepz,  
  
I would love to do a heart to heart with Kag-chan and sango-chan, but they never really do that in the manga...or anime. Japanese society is just a little more,hmmm...polite? Added on that, Sango would probably never feel that comfortable with another person...unless it was DIRECT family, or had lived and known her for her entire life. Things just don't work that way in feudal japan. (read shogun if you want a "westernized" idea, or musashi...or a boy named H for a slightly more modern viewpoint.)  
  
I love Catalina. My parents have a boat, so we go over all the time and stay. The best part of a boat? ...would be the ocean. (I love sailing!!) You are so right about that one! The worst part: SUNBURN. And I BURN,baby, BURN!!!!  
  
Brother to brother drama coming soon. Sorry if you didn't like all the dialogue in the last one, but thats how it is... lots of thinking (or lack thereof) and then talking out loud to figure out problems. Like brainstorming almost. That's the idea behind the conversation. Oooh, and lots of listening. Active thought means a reaction...which means active listening!  
  
"Girl stuff" will be seen in the next chappie, however. Haaaa-HAH!  
  
Oh wait, this IS the next chappie, isn't it? wow, I'm a genious today. The candle in the attic is burning!  
  
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After storming back to the Tetsusaiga in a rush, Inuyasha had spent the next several hours examining all the data Ki had given him carefully. Rubbing his tired eyes with his hands, he cursed internally at the computer screen, *Damn thing! It flickers so much it hurts my eyes! Gotta do something about that... I guess Ki's probably right about the whole Kagome thing... Hey, where the heck is she? She should've been back by now.*  
  
Frowning, he stood and overbalanced, his numb legs causing him to crash into his "picture shelf" and knock down several books and mementos. As he was picking them back up, and swearing in an even more venomous fashion (pin-tingly legs were not his cup of tea) he noticed several old-fashioned photos had fallen out of one album. One of them was himself, his brother, and two little girls...both with black hair. One had blue eyes, the other brown. All of them stood in a row, posing uncomfortably, His brother holding the smaller girl's hand, and him holding the bigger girl's hand. He stared at it for a second, pausing to consider that it looked really familiar. Flipping it over, he read the writing on the back.  
  
"Inuyasha and Kagome Higurashi, Rin and Sesshoumaru Darei AE 369." Wait, Kagome Higurashi? Nah, it had to be a coincidence. But it wasn't. It was the little girl he'd often played with, who he'd long ago promised to marry in a fit of childish seriousness. No, that wasn't right, he'd promised to protect her and marry her, and she'd promised him the same. What the heck were the chances of that? Here she was, years later, pestering him, turning his life upside down, making him examine his feelings truly– he DID care for her, more than the word "care" could ever possibly mean. His brain had admitted it was love, and so had his heart, but he shied away from the thoughts.  
  
And here she was, staring up at him. Could she be the reason why he had fallen for Kikyo so easily? After all, Kikyo did resemble Kagome in a remarkable manner. And what had his first words to Kikyo been? Something along the lines of, "Kagome? Is it you?!" The irony, if that was true, was stunning. He'd never allowed himself to love another (Kikyo didn't count, because she was KIND OF Kagome) or even consider it...despite numerous propositions..... once even by an alien queen named Yura!  
  
Somehow, he'd banished Kagome's memory to the faintest regions of his mind- an almost criminal act, considering the affect she had on him. And his brother, he remembered, had been similarly affected by her little sister, the one called ..Rin?... He'd tried to hide it as being long-suffering older brother concern for another brat/younger sibling, but his brother had been smitten the instant the two had met...and Rin only a very young toddler. A very young, FEARLESS, COURAGEOUS toddler...just like her sister. Which happened to be one of the things he LIKED about Kagome.  
  
Picking up the photograph, he stuffed it into an inner pocket, telling himself to go check on Kagome. Where the heck was she, anyhow? *She should've been back by now. I hope nothing has delayed her... usually she can take care of herself...* With that, he rose and headed out of his cabin, determined to find her. Armed with a new knowledge of himself, and of her. Did she remember him from that time long ago?  
  
****  
  
Kagome quickly moved back across the hangar, avoiding the nasty little green alien that shouted curses at her for not doing her "job" to help stow the tirillium ore. She made it back to Mitty and the now working ore hauler, shoving him into the passenger seat and quickly stepping behind the steering yoke to his protests. "Hey! Do you even know how to drive these things?!! Whaddya doing!!" "Hold on." she growled, and they shot out of the hangar, and headed rapidly back to the Tetsusaiga– in a very roundabout way. When they finally arrived, Mitty was whimpering and had turned a slight shade of green, Kagome noticed with satisfaction. "Serves you right, you old geezer. For driving like that...I drive fast, but I'm SAFE when I drive fast!!"  
  
Mitty muttered something and slumped down in his seat as Kagome bounced out of the driver's seat and headed for the Tetsusaiga's airlock. *Gotta warn Inuyasha, gotta warn Inuyasha..* Kept repeating in her head. She was more than a little surprized to see a group of official looking men standing at the airlock. She walked closer, and one of them spotted her and shouted, "There she is now!!! Get her!!" With that, several of them leaped out and grabbed her. Or more accurately, dog piled on top of her, slamming her unceremoniously into the metal flooring. Kagome was too startled by their rough treatment to do anything. Other than gape at them like a fish. And connect with the ground. HARD.  
  
She was seriously going to have a permanent imprint of the deck plating on her face, she thought furiously, since she couldn't move or barely get enough air to breathe, let alone speak.  
  
Luckily, she didn't have to. A gruff voice spoke out from somewhere beyond the pile of bodies covering her. "Here, now, Whaddya idiots think you're doing to Kagome? Eh? You're squishing her into the deck." With that, the pressure on her spine began to lessen as the men were hauled off by brute force.... and a rather angry hanyou.  
  
"You guys have got the wrong idea. I dunno why you're going after Kagome, but I can tell you one thing: you won't get away with it. She's innocent of whatever it is you bastards want, and I should know; she's been on my ship for the past few months." There was a pause, and a grunt, as the last man was hauled off her, and Inuyasha gently helped her to her feet, his eyes boring into her, checking for visible injuries. One of the stunned officials managed to protest. "BUT! But she's Kikyo Hanameda! She's wanted for drug trafficking, murder, kidnaping, prostitution, extortion, and misleading advertising on three worlds!"  
  
Kagome found herself pulled tightly against Inuyasha's strong chest, his arms cradling her as his reply emerged in a growl from his chest. "You stupid shitheaded penis-pocked vaginal WARTS! You don't recognize KAGOME HIGURASHI just because you've got earwax for brains, now, do you? Look at her! She looks NOTHING like that Kikyo bitch. For one thing, their eyes are different, the way they speak, think, act, and live as well." He couldn't resist a chance to plug for Kikyo's complete condemnation... so he continued. "'sides, everyone knows that Kagome and her family were illegally cloned about 50 years ago...I have proof, if you'd like ta see." With that he cracked his knuckles and smiled menacingly at them. "And if you just can't take MY word for it, perhaps you'd like to hear MY qualifications."  
  
There was a sudden pause, and a cold, monotonous voice spoke. "Yes, younger brother, what ARE your qualifications?" There was a sudden heavy silence as all the heads in the vicinity swivelled simultaneously toward Sesshoumaru. He simply raised his eyebrow and addressed Kagome. "Higurashi, next time you leave, be more careful not to leave a scent trail. It was not very hard to track you this time." Rin took the opportunity to march out from behind Sesshoumaru. "Kagome! Who're these men? What do they want? Didn't you tell them that we got attacked and separated, and have spent the last few months searching for each other??"  
  
This was turning into a circus! The gaping patrol members didn't have a clue what to do. Inuyasha did. "Sesshoumaru, quit interrupting. I was just about to tell them what my name was, you bastard! Darei, Inuyasha Darei. ....melodramatic git." He muttered in an aside that was clearly meant to be heard. Glaring his hatred, he invited the rather awed patrol members onboard the Tetsusaiga, while at the same time keeping Kagome carefully nestled in his arms and protected from Sesshoumaru and Rin.  
  
Sesshoumaru spoke again. "This is not over, Halfling. You WILL give me the Tetsusaiga." His voice may have been monotone and emotionless, but even Rin could hear that his demand lacked conviction. "The HELL I will, you BASTARD! I'll be damned before I ever let you get your hands on the Tetsusaiga." Quickly he shoved Kagome aboard the ship, ordering her curtly, "Shut the door after you. The proof's on the mainframe under 'Naraku' if you need it."  
  
With that, he left her staring at him as he stomped up to his brother. "You, you've got a lot of nerve, you bastard. He would have gone further, but Rin jumped in front of him. Kagome had not moved toward the hatch. "Wait! Don't! Don't do this! You don't have to fight over some stupid ship! Why can't you just cooperate for once?!!" Sesshoumaru reached out and gently pulled rin to the side. Rin was so astonished she let him do so, and even more astonished when he spoke. "Rin, it is useless. The hanyou bastard would just hurt you if you got in the way. Let me handle this." "You FUCKING ARSEHOLE! I would not attack some stupid girl just to get you!" "You attacked me because you hated my blood. What is the difference, hanyou?" With that, Inuyasha surged forward, yelling. "YOU ATTACKED ME, BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU KISS THAT SLIMY SACK OF SHIT, EH!?? FUCKING DIEEEE!!!!"  
  
And with that, the fight began. Bystanders quickly shuffled out of the way, making themselves scarce in the sight of the two battling youkai. Kagome and Rin could only watch with mesmerized fascination. It was like watching two bouncing punching bags animatedly bashing themselves to heck. BAM THWACK BOOM BLAM WHAPPITAWHAPPITA CRUNCH BANG KAAAABOOOOOM! (and so on)  
  
When it finally ended, both were laid out on the floor, bleeding, badly injured, and panting harshly in exertion. Ahhh, brotherly love. That was the cue for the furious Rin, and the even more furious Kagome to step forward, flames dancing around their heads in deadly twin halos. At equal volumes, they began berating the two brothers. "What were you THINKING, you stupid git! He's your brother! Have you NO family loyalty?!? Don't you care?" Kagome proceded to thwack Inuyasha on the head, all the while carefully examining his other injuries. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Why would you do such a thing! Even you should be smart enough to figure out that you guys were probably duped into hating each other by Naraku! It sounds just like one of his traps!" Kiyonneh chose that minute to show up, and give a snort of laughter at the sight of the two brothers.  
  
Rin turned to Kagome. "We'll just have to knock some sense into them. Have you got a first aide kit?" Kagome's eyes glimmered. "You want to...." Rin nodded and smiled evilly. "Kiss and make up time, don't you think?" With that, she reached out and knocked Sesshoumaru unconscious, and as Kagome did the same to Inuyasha, they dragged both youkai unceremoniously inside... and into the medical bay, where they proceeded to hog tie the two to the bunks and treat their injuries, which were already rapidly healing. Ki was only too willing to help them. Then, turning out the lights at Rin's suggestion, they went to find Sango and Miroku, and went to explain what was happening to the poor Patrolmen, with a little assistance from Max and Ki. No-one could quite figure out where Max had appeared from, though.  
  
In the end, the Patrolmen left with quite a bit to think about. It isn't every day an ex-smuggler and some of the richest people in the galaxy inform you that there's a giant slaver/drug ring operating at the behest of the Galaxies leaders and that it has to be stopped. The poor suckers were mostly shocked, and Ki sent them off gleefully with several data pads stuffed full of evidence in case they had other questions. Perhaps it was also the shock of knowing that they'd have to take on the slaver ring themselves, and that the long lost "Darei" brothers were not so lost, or so misguided. It was rather interesting for them to find out that Sesshoumaru was not actually a bad person (with much insistence upon Rin's part) and that his motives were perfectly justified in turning pirate.  
  
Ki also didn't mind giving the two brothers a rather high dose of Danyrose, causing their minds to link to each other in a dream state and compare their memories. As he eloquently put it, "'bout time those two young idiots figured out that their common enemy is more dangerous than each other. I bet they're suffering at the hands of another of Naraku's plots. It sounds like it to me..." Rin nodded. "What did you give them, by the way?" Ki grinned and explained. "Danyrose causes a joining of consciousness...but only with another person who is similarly drugged. The weaker their bodies, the stronger the mental rapport." Kagome looked horrified for a second. "Buh, but that's an illegal drug! It could kill them!" "Nah, those two idiots are too strong for a silly drug to kill them...good breeding, and all that shit, y'know." With that, he ushered everyone into the mess hall.  
  
So Kagome and Rin had a cheerful meal with the rest, waiting for the brothers' minds to free themselves and return to normal. It DID take rather a while for Danyrose to work, and a while for it to work its magical reconciliation. But it was not without peril.  
  
***flashback***  
  
Pain, red and roiling like a sea of blood. A distant throbbing, then two...two heartbeats as one. Gasping for breath, drowning in the sea, but pictures play across the surface of the darkness, brilliant in colors and sounds...  
  
Inside sat his brother, talking with... Naraku?? His cold, often remote brother Sesshoumaru was talking to Naraku like a best friend?!? What the hell was going on?? Sesshoumaru never talked to anyone except him like that. Even their father was treated with the same cold courtesy as everyone else. And here, here was his brother, saying...what?  
  
"Why didn't you kill the damned hanyou, Naraku? And to fire that displacer beam so close to me. Who were you trying to fool. I thought you loved me, beloved? Look, just kill the hanyou, Ok? We don't need him, or my parents. Hmmm?" With that, his brother leaned over and KISSED?!! Naraku? The HELL!!? He was furious. His brother wasn't like that! This wasn't real! It was a fake! What the hell did Naraku think, trying to trick him like this?!  
  
With a furious snarl, he broke his restraints and then smashed through the glass panel. "SESSHOUMARU! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON, YOU JERK!?" His brother turned, surprised, his smile slightly...wrong and purred (What the heck? His brother would NEVER deign to speak like that, even to him!) cruelly, "Why, little brother, can't you guess? I've hated your guts since the day I was born, you insignificant worm of a human! Tainted blood, so disgusting!" With a sneer he turned away, back to Naraku. "Lover, the little hanyou is becoming upset. Get rid of him for me, won't you? I wouldn't want to have to face my 'parents' with his dirty blood on my hands."  
  
Inuyasha lost it. Yanking his sword out, he leaped for Naraku, missing and hitting a console. His brother just crossed his arms and leaned against the bed watching. Whirling quickly, he lashed out, smashing into a support and causing the ceiling to start breaking. Furious, he used one of his father's succession techniques. "KAZE NO KIZU!" and the ceiling fell. He couldn't see his brother, but Naraku scrambled out the hole in the wall into the hall, and he chased him, screaming. "I hate you! I HATE YOU! GODDAMNIT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER, HUH??"  
  
Abruptly, Naraku stopped and faced him. "I? I did nothing. You should know better, hanyou. And you should watch your back more." With that, Inuyasha felt his brothers? Claws ripping into him. Mocking laughter followed him down into unconsciousness. "Stupid brother of mine. You think I'd let you hurt my lover? Foolish ahou."  
  
...  
  
More darkness, laced with white hot lightning, and the thunder became rumbling pain traveling across the undersides of the clouds....  
  
...  
  
Inside sat his brother, talking with... Naraku?? Sesshoumaru had always regarded that horrible hanyou as inferior, as underhanded. But never his BROTHER! Despite being annoying and probably the only one to challenge him and bring him out of his icy shell, his brother was his best and ONLY friend. To all but his brother, Sesshoumaru had always been colder and meaner than the frostiest icicle in hell. His brother, on the other hand, was his complete opposite: sometimes a complete and utter mystery hidden in a veil of fiery obscenities. But why? Why was Inuyasha talking to Naraku and...saying those things...  
  
"Stupid older brother of mine. He doesn't give a damn about anyone. He hates my guts, because I'm half-youkai. Why didn't you kill him? I thought you said that a well-placed disrupter blast would do the trick!!" Naraku replied, with a greasy smile, "Not so fast, young man. There are still obstacles to overcome. For one thing, your parents must be killed, and then your brother must be finished off—perhaps for the murder of your parents? Hmmm, I Like that one!! What do you think, huh?"  
  
Inuyasha grinned–just GRINNED. "Sounds great. About time someone showed that arrogant ass what hanyou's are capable of!" Sesshoumaru couldn't take it anymore. With an incredible snarl, he broke the restraints and crashed through the glass to confront them. "INUYASHA....What is the meaning of this?!!" Inuyasha turned, surprized, his smile slightly...wrong. "Why, older brother, can't you guess? I've hated your guts since the day I was born, you stupid arsehole!"  
  
The world was going red. Sesshoumaru didn't hesitate. He leaped for Naraku, killing him in one swipe. "This is all YOUR fault, you bastard!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!!??" In the heat of the moment, a detached portion of his mind registered that his brother had drawn his sword and stabbed him in the back with it. The world became dark again...  
  
...  
  
Memories swam, surfaced, frolicked in the blood red sea...but the memories were not his...they were....whose? They weren't right. They had been...altered. There was a disturbing pattern. Doubt spread, tainting the waters black. **What if the whole thing really was some type of plan, or memory implanted by Naraku? What better way to gain a fortune than by turning brother against brother?**  
  
...  
  
A laughing black-haired girl tackled him to the floor, crying happily, "I gotchuu, I gotchuu, Inu-chan! Hee hee hee!" and then she morphed into an older girl, crying on his shoulder. "But I don't WANNA train t'be a Miko, Inu-chan!" sniffling, she wiped her nose on his collar and wailed louder....  
  
...  
  
Crystal giggles rang in his sensitive ears as the tiny toddler tripped over his legs and grabbed hold of him, flopping down with a thump. She raised innocent eyes to his, squeaking happily "sessssho-s'ma, sessssho-s'ma!" and giggling again. His headache was fading, replaced by curiosity. How was she not afraid of him? A tiny hand on his cheek caused him to suck in his breath in startlement, as the tiny voice continued in barely understandible baby talk. "Sessssho-s'ma sad? Lon'ly....Rin make happy!" With that, she giggled and pressed her tiny lips to his in a sloppy kiss. "Make be'er, boo boo gone like otou 'n' okaaa do!" Then, she flopped down in his lap, and began playing with his hair, sleepily... and he let her, feeling happy for some inexplicable reason. His chest felt warm, and absently he pressed a hand to it, trying to identify the sensation. It was followed by a rush of gentle protectiveness.  
  
...  
  
A louder rumble of adult voices above the table where he had hidden under. He wasn't supposed to be awake, but he wanted to hear about his dads work... "We're not sure how she was born, but she IS a remarkable child. DNA studies suggest that she has some sort of encoded gene pattern..." there was a pause and his father's voice rumbled out. "So you mean she's not really your daughter?" "Well, all I know is that the accident at the lab involving my wife working on the research for the Shikon stardrive resulted in a pregnancy and Kagome was born nine months later...I hadn't even had time to sleep with my wife yet...to consumnate the marriage, you understand?"  
  
His father's voice rumbled again. "You think that Midoriko might have done something to booby-trap that lab and altered your wife's DNA somehow so she could have Kagome? Maybe she's got some sort of design matrix for a ship in her— the real Shikon?" The other man replied, "...Possibly... But we concluded it wasn't finished, though. It needs someone else's blood to make the plans complete. My wife has been having some visions, and she thinks it may be one of your sons." "MY son's?" boomed his father, even louder in incredulity. Sesshoumaru made a tiny jump at his father's tone.  
  
"Well, SHE thinks so, and I've never known her to be wrong yet. She IS a descendant of Midoriko, you know. The one who used the Shikon to bring peace to the galaxy, and then was forced to disappear? I think that the designs for the whole ship are coded within the children." "That still doesn't explain my sons..." rumbled his father "Who knows? I don't. Anyway, the point is that they have to be protected. And I think you're the one who's best at doing that."  
  
His father's foot shifted, poking him and causing him to squeak in surprize. With that, his father's proud countenance appeared, peering under the table. "Sesshoumaru, what are YOU doing here? Shouldn't you be going to bed? And just how much of our conversation did you hear, hmmm?" One eyebrow lifted in a sardonic expression. "I heard everything. You hafta protect us 'cause we're special." His father snorted. "Out from under the table, and not a word of what you heard to anyone, bucko! Off to bed with you, Mr. Higurashi and I aren't done talking yet." He was ushered to the door, and then darkness came again...  
  
...  
  
They stood uncomfortably, posing in their best clothes for the picture. "Sess-chan, don't stand so stiffly. Hold Rin's hand." "Rin, stop fidgeting. Kagome, smile." He reached out and grasped Rin's tiny hand, squeezing it reassuringly. No, he reached out and grabbed Kagome's hand and squeezed it twice. Giggling, she smiled and squeezed back. "A good looking bunch, aren't they?" Rumbled Inutaisho. CLICK! went the camera, and they stood blinded by the flash.  
  
...  
  
Then they plunged together into the darkness. They were sitting across from each other in a dark room. The one known now as Inuyasha stared at the one called Sesshoumaru. "You didn't do any of that stuff to me at all, did you?" there was silence. "No." You love Rin, don't you? Your chest got all warm when she kissed you. Funny, isn't it? That we'd find them again?" Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "Aa. We are not awake, you know." Inuyasha looked at him, puzzled. "We aren't? I sure feel awake." "No, we're in a dreamscape. We have to agree to wake our bodies up to get out of here. There's some sort of drug keeping us asleep. I think that's how we shared memories." This brought a frown to the hanyou's face. "Drug? Goddamn it, they drugged us?"  
  
Sesshoumaru grimaced. "I would imagine it was that Ki fellow. We DID beat each other up rather well. Just like you to go all helpless on me." Inuyasha snorted and flipped his brother off. "If I remember right, dumbass, you were pretty helpless too.... How 'bout we call it a truce. I don't think we can get out of here by ourselves. Truce?" His brother nodded without animosity. "You love Kagome, don't you?" Inuyasha simply turned red and flipped him off again, saying nothing, and by doing so, admitting everything. They had reached a new understanding that day. They were no longer a house divided upon itself.  
  
"We have to concentrate on purging the drug from our bodies." Inuyasha screwed up his face and they both sat concentrating until the black began to fade...into the gray of closed eyelids. And finally, a dark room where both were strapped to bunks. The smell identified it as Inuyasha's sickbay. They were alone in the darkened room. Sesshoumaru's voice sounded rusty, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. "Think they forgot about us?" Inuyasha began cursing. "They damn well better NOT have!!"  
  
**end flashback**  
  
Sesshoumaru's voice sounded rusty, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. "Think they forgot about us?" Inuyasha began cursing. "They damn well better NOT have!!" Grimacing, he began to try to untie the bonds. "Grrrr, goddamnit! I forgot these stupid things fasten from the outside. FUCK!" With a swift snick, Sesshoumaru sat up and threw his legs off the end of the bed. "It seems rather unfortunate that you were never given a poison whip in your augumentations, Little Brother. Perhaps I should leave you there..." "Waiiiit, how the fuck did you get out of there so quickly?!!"   
  
There was a pregnant pause as Inuyasha's eyes moved to view the restraints, which were no longer...restraining. Cut! They had been CUT! With a roar of indignation, he tore his off and leaped for his grinning brother. "AUUUGH! FUCKER! Those cost MONEY, y'know! Come back here and I'll BEAT it out of you!!!" His brother ran out of the door, smirking, with Inuyasha hard on his heels swiping madly at him.  
  
Completely forgetting the fact that now he was out TWO sickbay restraints...  
  
__________________________________________________________  
  
Sooo, how 'bout that now, eh? Whoo! Confrontation!! YEAH!  
  
Oookay, I'm hungry now. all that typing and sewing (new jacket, yahoo!) makes me veeery hungry. Time for EATS!  
  
Hey, guess what this quote is from: "And DON'T CALL ME -CHAN!" Hee hee hee, I love that anime too. So, I've been a lazy writer. Sorry. I get lotsa crap round hereabouts about going to work. Have I told anyone how much I hate Disney? Ah. 'cause I do. Oh, fav quote from this chapter: Sesshoumaru grimaced. "I would imagine it was that Ki fellow. We DID beat each other up rather well. Just like you to go all helpless on me." Inuyasha snorted and flipped his brother off. "If I remember right, dumbass, you were pretty helpless too...." Ha ha ha, sounds like me and my sister, alldaylong! w00t!  
  
Better go feed self now...insanity is encroaching.  
  
Gaki-Lanenkar a.y.s.!  
  
PS: don't have a clue what darei and hanameda mean. somebody tell me, ok? I borrowed the names from someone else's fanfiction...because they were so COOL sounding. So, sorry if I don't remember who you are, but review me and say so I can give credit where it's due. 


	16. Chapter 15: Drugs Are BAD for youkinda

Hey, fuckers. Review me, ok? I need the love. My life is a crazy shithouse/circus right now.  
  
Oh, and enjoy the madness. It's pretty funny, I think.   
  
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Kagome and Rin were currently sprawled tiredly over the chair (Kagome) and deck (Rin) of the bridge, half asleep. Ki had told them that the Danyrose took a while to go away and for the "sleepers" to wake up, and the brothers would be out for a whole day. After the poor Patrolmen had left, they'd eaten with the perverted Miroku and strangely grouchy Sango. Miroku, of course, sported a red handprint on his face and a bemused expression. When Kagome shot Sango a curious look, Sango growled something about, "...mumble mumble...became lucid, fuckin' coppin' a..mumble... FEEL. Pervert houshi..mumble mumble...Hentai!!" But she blushed almost as much as Miroku when Kagome rolled her eyes and said dryly, "You like it anyways, Sango." Dinner was a subdued affair, everyone slurping quickly and heading off to their own devices, all of them waiting worriedly for the two brothers to awaken.  
  
So, again the girls sat, not wanting to go to sleep, and not wanting to stay awake either, really. "Shouldn't we be there when they wake up? They still might try to kill each other or something. Both are pretty darn stubborn." Rin yawned and corrected her. "Damn stubborn. It's ok, we've got another couple of hours at least."  
  
HA!  
  
The door wooshed open, and a stentorian roar came issuing out of it as two white blobs of motion burst from it. "GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKER!! THOSE THINGS COST A LOT OF MONEY!! WHAT THE FUCK AM I GOING TO RESTRAIN MIROKU WITH, EH?!! ARSEHOLE!!" Both girls sat up like a pair of matched marionettes pulled by invisible strings. The effect was...comical. Startled, White Moving Blob #1 stopped suddenly, causing White and Red Moving-Yelling Blob #2 to run smack into him and fall down with a distinct "THUMP."  
  
There was a long astonished pause, before the two girls began to giggle, and finally to laugh, and guffaw, bending over and wheezing in great gasps of hilarity. Sesshoumaru looked slightly put out, and turned around, poking his brother with his foot. "Hey. Why are they laughing at us, dumbass?" Which brought another spate of laughter. Rising from the chair, Kagome managed weakly between gasps for breath, "He...gasp....can't....hear you. Hee hee hee hee! He's...gasp...knocked...out." Quickly making it to Inuyasha's side.  
  
Inuyasha was swirly-eyed, but his ear twitched as Kagome got closer. Realizing his brother had not been THAT badly knocked out– only pretending, Sesshoumaru decided to see what he was up to. Kagome knelt beside Inuyasha and gently reached out to brush his bangs away from his face, carefully reaching out to make sure he wasn't really injured. At least, she reached for the swelling knot, but a clawed hand caught her wrist and she was summarily yanked off her knees and across a warm, prone body. Her legs now straddled Inuyasha's hips. Horrified, Kagome looked up into a pair of clear gold eyes.  
  
"Gotcha. Keh! Did you think I'd really be knocked out by that? We were just goofing around." Reaching out, he captured her other hand, and pulled her closer. "I'll forgive you and Ki for knocking us out, if you do something for me." Outraged, Kagome tugged against his grip on her wrists. "Lemme go, Inuyasha!! Just what are you thinking...!! You... You...YOU!" He grinned evilly, a spark of mischief dancing in his eyes and interrupted. "Moan a little." And with that, he pulled her arms above her head in a one-handed grip, and rolled over on top of her, with on hand on her back. And kissed her. Hard.  
  
When she was gasping for air, he released her lips, and flicking his tongue out, licked them...and then bit her bottom lip, before giving her another drugging kiss. And another. And another. She was kissing him back. And then, suddenly, he pulled away. Kagome made a tiny moan of protest in her throat, and he smiled triumphantly. Needless to say, Kagome was in a stupor. First, she was UNDERNEATH Inuyasha's warm, um, sculpted body, she'd been kissed senseless, and now he was smiling at her. Genuinely smiling.  
  
Sesshoumaru couldn't help it. Didn't they realize they had an audience? Then, suddenly, a perfectly wicked idea struck him, and he pounced on Rin, who was still sitting on the deck. Whisking her to her feet, he bent her back in an exaggerated kiss.  
  
She didn't even have time to THINK before a pair of warm, hard lips descended upon hers. He was soft and hard at the same time, demanding that she respond. In short, he was such a passionate kisser (who would have thought, behind that cold exterior) that her legs were already pools of quivering jelly and a socket wrench had been permanently thrown into her brain's gears.  
  
Then, while Rin was still stunned, he turned with a smirk to his brother and Kagome, who were now regarding him with utter fascination. "Don't even TRY to outdo me on that one, Little Brother." The girls' faces were as red as their hair. "Are you going to get off your mate so we can go eat something? While kissing them is very nice, I'm hungry." And at that moment, both of their stomachs chose to growl loudly in protest.  
  
Actually, his stomach was just an excuse. If he got Rin any more excited, he'd probably damn his incredible control to hell and rip off her clothes right there. Which, of course was an embarrassing thought– that he couldn't control himself around her. Her arousal turned him into a spineless dog-youkai putty. *And if I have no control around my mate in such a state, I wonder about my brother. Best to distract him before...So I can have a talk with him...privately!*  
  
And with that, he set to chivvying his stunned mate, brother's mate and brother toward the dining room. He didn't say a word when Inuyasha hauled Kagome upright and wrapped a possessive hand around her waist. He had already done the same thing with a fuming Rin, who didn't know whether to smack him or kiss him again. He didn't say a word, but he wouldn't let Rin out of his grasp. Inuyasha was the same, pulling his permanently red-faced mate onto his lap and wrapping an arm around her stomach, and then hurriedly gulping his Ramen like ten samurai put together. Sesshoumaru ate no less hungrily, but in a more...refined...fashion.  
  
*Less gulping and slurping, for one thing...humpf! You'd think mother raised him to be a PIG.* But then he noticed the twinkle in his brother's eye again. *Oh...trying to get a rise out of me, punk brother?* Inuyasha's only response to that thought was an evil grin for his older brother. *Damn straight, Big Bro!* Slurping up the rest of his ramen, he set his bowl down for the first time in fifteen minutes, kissed a very confused and startled Kagome again, and then set her gently on the seat, leaping up and exclaiming, "Ki! I'm gonna go beat him!" And rushing out of the room. Smothering an amused cough, Sesshoumaru simply suggested dryly, "You look rather tired. Perhaps you two should go to bed. I believe I shall help Inuyasha shred Ki's entrails from his body." With that, he rose, and bowed to the two of them before kissing Rin in a similar fashion and striding out.  
  
Rin managed a rather confused. "Wha...what just happened?" "Good sense of smell." Kagome managed. "Ah....yes. I see." "C'mon, I don't know about you, but my brain's not working well enough to decipher their behavior, so lets go get some sleep." That said, sleep reigned supreme in Kagome's quarters until morning.  
  
****  
  
When they arrived in the dining hall the next day, they were cheerfully greeted by a wide awake pair of brothers, a perverted Miroku on the mend, a cheerful Sango, and a rather bruised and battered Ki, who was missing several teeth but gamely slurping down a cup of coffee. Ki also sported several large swollen lumps on his head and a black eye of spectacular porportions. Kagome must have looked horrified, because he shot her a sheepish look and said quickly, "Th' eye'snot their fault. I was a little slow ducking under a bulkead." This earned the innocent-looking brothers heated glares from both girls. Finally they all re-settled themselves and sat down to eat in earnest. Kagome noted that one of the other symptoms of the danyrose seemed to be that both the brothers had enormous appetites.  
  
Ki coughed, and spoke up again. "'Guess I shoulda explained t'yall that sometimes people coming off of danyrose are, um... inclined to do some crazy things... They lose all their inhibitions and um....umm......" Poking Ki none to gently in the shoulder, Inuyasha prompted him, "What were you gonna say, jiji?! Spit it out!" Ki mumbled something, prompting Sesshoumaru to stare at him, almost horrified. "TO GO INTO HEAT!?!" He practically bellowed. "THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR GIVING US THAT STUFF!" The two shouted at almost the exact same moment.  
  
Quickly, trying to distract the two brothers, Rin reached out and caught Sesshoumaru's hand. Six pairs of shocked eyes were riveted on their hands, instantly. "Sesshoumaru? What is he talking about? Does it have anything to do with why you....um....nevermind!" Her face was flushing a lovely shade of pink. Sesshoumaru's eyes were practically saucers in his head of panic and Rin leaned closer in concern. His breathing was suddenly harsh and uneven, the closer she leaned. Worse, he couldn't unclasp her hand, so he couldn't move away. He could only lean frantically in the opposite direction, trying to control himself. *God...she smells MUCH too good.*  
  
Inuyasha didn't know whether to laugh, or rescue his brother. Then, the worst possible thing happened. Kagome looked over at her sister and got a evil look on her face, and he found her hand on his knee, slowly inching upward. He whipped upright in frozen shock still holding his chopsticks in one hand at the burning heat that sizzled straight to his groin at her touch, an identical frozen expression of panic on his face. Seeing what was going on, Sango decided to join in. (No need to mention what she did, suffice to say Miroku's brain had more than it could handle and emitted steam from his ears...also, he won't be groping anyone for a couple of days...)  
  
Ki started choking with laughter and finally managed to stall the girls mischief. "So, when are ye goin' te git married, eh? 'D be the best way te git ridda that Naraku feller. Or mebbe y'all have got other ideas on how to protect the ladies. Be 'bout right too- Higurashi's and Darei's gettin' together." With that he rubbed his hands together with relish as the girls ripped their hands away as though they had been burned, and the guys breathed sighs of relief. All of them ignored the question, though the guys did consider it an excellent idea, in a chavinistic "I will protect you, my mate" barbarian sort of way. Quickly they seized upon the new topic, reaching for something that wouldn't send anyone into orbit for perverted thoughts.  
  
"Keh! Naraku ain't gonna just leave us alone. If he thinks Kagome's got the plans for the Shikon in her genes, he'll do anything to get her."   
  
"Maybe you should just disappear, brat. Then he'll have as much trouble finding you as I always have had. You're damned good at being invisible. We can only hope that he doesn't get word of your fiasco with Kagura..." Miroku chose that minute to interrupt. "I'm sorry." Inuyasha simply shot him a "it's no big deal" glare and addressed Kiyonneh.  
  
"Yeah. Hey, Ki, didn't you manage to arrest that bitch?" "Naw, din't. Sorry."  
  
"Hey!" interrupted Kagome. "So you think it'd be best for Rin and I to just hide out with you guys? I mean, I know Naraku wouldn't attack Sesshoumaru directly, but what about our parents?" Rin nodded in agreement. Sesshoumaru sighed with great reluctance. "The only thing I can think of is to send a couple of my best assassins to protect them." That caused dead silence around the table, and earned him two horrified looks from Kagome and Rin. Sango spoke up. "Good idea. They'd know best how to counter other assassination attempts. How would you keep them loyal to you though?" Sesshoumaru simply shot her a cold, distainful glance, and she gulped. "I see your point. Nevermind."  
  
Inuyasha grinned at his brother suddenly, his eyes lighting in understanding. "Mincemeat, eh? How do you manage without your crazy younger brother around to threaten everyone with death anymore?" The great Sesshoumaru, stone faced and implacable minion of "evil" simply rolled his eyes and made a distinctive one-fingered gesture, causing his brother to laugh. And everyone else to have heart attacks! THAT wasn't something that they'd ever thought he'd do...It was more along Inuyasha's normal actions. His perfect brow furrowed. "What? Where'd you think he learned all that stuff?" Nails and cuticles were generally examined by all members of the group. Yep, very healthy nails, all around. Though maybe Miroku's could use a manicure. Too much perverted ass-grabbing leaves the nails rather...ragged, you know?  
  
Rin had never seen Sesshoumaru so lighthearted and relaxed... ever. It was an amazing transformation. More and more she could see the hidden similarities of personality and thinking between the two brothers. One was simply more silent than the other, and you had to read between the lines more. The other was a complete extrovert. Put them together, and they balanced out. Apart, you had a hot-head and an ice-lord. That, and the miraculous reconciliation worked by the danyrose was astonishing on more than one level.  
  
She didn't know the half of it. There was a pause as all of them thought about what they could do while staring fixedly at the tabletop. Sesshoumaru took advantage of it to think directly at his brother, not knowing that the danyrose had activated the brothers long-lost mind speech link. *YOU need to mate that little spitfire before she kills you by accident...just be gentle the first time, hmmm? Damn! I'll have to talk to him, won't I? ...Kami-sama, having a little brother again is going to be such a pain in the ass.* Inuyasha's head snapped up and he stared into Sesshoumaru's eyes. *Same to you. Fuck. I guess we're stuck, aren't we?* The icy Sesshoumaru, he-who-never-smiled, did. *I'm not stuck. Rin'll be mine by nightfall. If only I could say the same for your ability to claim what's yours.* Inuyasha rolled his eyes.*Aren't you an arrogant prig. She ain't mine. We haven't even talked about it.* Sesshoumaru's expression didn't change. *She likes you. She wants you. You want her. Why hesitate? Take what is yours, stupid baka brother.*  
  
Kagome sighed. "It'll work, I think. But what are we going to do about Naraku? We can't just let him get away with whatever nasty things he's planning to do." Wrenching his brain back to it's proper location, Inuyasha snarled. "KEH! I'm gonna kill that fucking bastard!" His brother shot him a glare and remarked, "That's an intelligent statement." with evident sarcasm. "Well, what about the Galactic Senate? Shouldn't we find out who is supporting Naraku and eliminate them in order to destabilize his credibility?" Rin suggested intelligently. "Go for the top." "We can't eliminate them directly." was Miroku's input. "We have to discredit them through their association with Naraku. AND, we have to find out who his spies are."  
  
"Agreed." Stated Sango. Rin stated thoughtfully, "I could probably contact a few people without arousing too many suspicions. I have a few people I think I can trust. Kagome-chan, you'd better do that too with the rest. I think I can send you a message. We'll just beam it to Sango first. If that's alright with her?" Sango nodded, and with that, Rin stood and tugged Sesshoumaru upright. "We'd better go if we want to maintain the fiction that you two still don't like each other." She waved a negligent hand at Inuyasha. "'Sides, Kagome-chan and Inu-nii-chan need to get out of here quick... go find a few rocks, you know?" Grinning at her dig at Inuyasha's profession, she pulled an unresisting Sesshoumaru from the room. "Take care of my sister, alright?" Sesshoumaru paused on the doorstep, saying only, "Claim what is yours brother. I shall. I feel that she is suitable." With that, he arched his eyebrow and swept from the room at Inuyasha's noncommittal grunt.  
  
Kagome shot him a puzzled look, but he refused to meet her eyes, shrugging his shoulders. "C'mon, we got work to do. Ki-jijii, you better git goin' too."  
  
Their work consisted of selling off the rest of their ore and gathering supplies as quickly as possible; which Ki and Sango were glad to help with. Miroku went back to his own ship and then headed out, saying he'd see them all later after making sure all their claims were safe. And, after making sure that nobody around would have any inkling of just who Kagome and Inuyasha were...and WHERE they were. Sango, they agreed, would follow and later meet up with them as well. They left at the same time as Sango, without a long farewell to Ki, because  
  
Long Farewells Give The Enemy Time To Aim.  
  
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Were you amused? Indifferent? Somebody let me know, 'cause I haven't had a single review for the LAST chapter I posted. Yep. Pretty disgruntled about that. And y'all should know about disgruntled writers. They're dangerous. GrrRRRRrrrRRRrrr!  
  
So press that GODDAMN Button, DAMNIT!  
  
*stalks off, pissed* 


	17. Chapter 16: Centripetal force

Thanks to all for reviewing me. And now, since I have been threatened with a pink slipper, I'm going to have to workon/update Wanted: A barkeeper tonight. But here, I have overcome the evil writer's block...Diviertan mucho!  
  
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Once they were free of the asteroid Rimshot, Inuyasha set a convoluted course to their first mining destination, and then retreated to his cabin silently. In the past couple of days, they'd barely had any time to talk to each other, let alone be alone together. And it really didn't help that he did everything he could to avoid her. She, for the most part, was confused. What had Sesshoumaru meant when he said that "She is suitable." thing? And what was this "claiming" business about? She hadn't stopped thinking about it since he had said it.   
  
Was he talking about Rin and himself? Or was he talking about Inuyasha? He had acted as though Inuyasha HAD someone to "claim". Did he have some sort of girlfriend or fiancée that she didn't know about??! It was unfair! She liked Inuyasha a lot, heck, she'd fallen in love with him without ever knowing his last name, and then he had to reveal that he already had a fiancée. He was leading her on! Because he COULDN'T have been talking about her, could he? What about all the times he called her "wench" or "bitch" or "girl" or some other derogatory name? What about how he always insulted her, and she'd always insult and yell at him back? What about the time he kissed her in the gym?!!   
  
And now, he couldn't even stand the sight of her. It was the only thing she could conclude. Was he ashamed or something? What the HELL was wrong with him?! He'd go bright red when she entered the room, stammer something about needing to do or be somewhere else, and leave as quickly as possible, sometimes bumping into things or stumbling. And it had started the moment after their stupid conference. Or was it before?  
  
She was furious. She was hurt. She wasn't sure whether to cry or scream. In the end, she decided to do neither. Heading down the hall, she decided some exercise would be a welcome respite from unloading ores and re-loading supplies.  
  
Archery practice. A lot of it. And she knew what face the target would be wearing.  
  
***  
  
She hadn't a clue. Seeing her was pure torture, smelling her enticing scent, feeling her heady presence was almost more than he could take. He had SOME self-control, but when it came to her, it was rapidly eroding. And she didn't have the foggiest clue what his problem was. Or why, even know, after JUST seeing her that morning in the control room, he was taking a shower. A very COLD, PAINFUL shower.  
  
His only defense against being a complete cad was to blush madly and escape from the room as quickly as possible. Even that didn't help, because her scent was all over the ship– every tiny inch that she'd touched. And she'd lived there for quite a while, so she'd spread her scent everywhere. *Goddamn it! I've been in a constant state of readiness ever since I kissed her on the fucking DECK!!! ARRRG!!* He was furious with himself, and furious with Ki for revealing his weakness. He'd practically sworn to himself that he'd never allow some stupid female to ever make him so weak ever again. God, the sight of her made his hands tremble, and he was remarkably clumsy when she was around. *I look like a fucking IDIOT. KEH!*  
  
Anguished, he yanked on his hair and let out a yowl of frustration and anger. *I HATE this. I do. I NEED her, and I can't even face her and tell her that. Why can't I be like Sess? I bet HE isn't having problems like this.... And I can't just take advantage of her. I want.. I want her to be mine, but forever. I don't want some quick fling...that just wouldn't be possible. I love her too much. She's..she's lovely, and beautiful, and I can't tell her that. All I can do is insult her. Nobody ever taught me how to "go after" a real woman... Oh, I am SO screwed!* Furious, he poured soap over his hair, scrubbing furiously to remove any imagined scent of her.  
  
*I can't even fucking RESTRAIN myself... What in heaven's name am I going to do?* Furious, he decided that he'd reset some power relays down in the belly of the ship to distract himself.   
  
***  
  
Half an hour later, he was up to his armpits in wires and cabling, streaked with sweat and swearing worse than the heartiest sailor—while hanging upside down. "GODDAMNIT! Fuckin' power relays...they're supposed to work!! ARRRRRG!" He had banged himself three times on the head, and had numerous other bruises which were healing quickly, but were incredibly annoying. Abruptly, the Tetsusaiga gave a lurch. Warning sirens began to sound. "WARNING! HYPERSPACE TUNNEL INTEGRITY HAS BEEN BREACHED! WARNING! HYPERSPACE TUNNEL INTEGRITY HAS BEEN BREACHED! SHIP WILL NOW BE TAKING EVASIVE MANEUVERS! CAPTAIN ADVISED TO ACTIVATE WEAPONS CONTROL! REPEAT: CAPTAIN ADVISED TO ACTIVATE WEAPONS CONTROL!!"  
  
Inuyasha fell with a crash from his precarious position, smacking his head against the deck. "FUCK!" Quickly, he scrabbled for a foothold and dropping his tools, raced for the access ladder that would take him to the bridge fastest. "WARNING! WARNING! PIRATE HAS FIRED! INITIAL DAMPENERS OFFLINE! TAKING EMERGENCY COUNTERATTACK MEASURES! PLEASE STANDBY FOR SHIP MANEUVERS!" In the exercise room, Kagome had similarly dropped her bow and was racing through the corridors toward the bridge, everything forgotten but the madness ringing in her ears.  
  
Inuyasha reached the bridge first, dropping from the access vent in the ceiling onto the crazily tilting floor. Red lights were flashing and the automated alert was still blaring away. The deck tilted, then shimmied precariously as the ship maneuvered to avoid damage by the other vessels and dropped out of hyperspace. When the internal dampeners finally kicked in, the door swooshed open and Kagome pulled herself inside using the open doorframe. Furious, she exclaimed, "What the HELL is going on, Inuyasha?!?!"  
  
Inuyasha merely reached out and grabbed her shoulders as soon as she got near enough and shoved her toward the pilots berth as he grunted. "Pirates. See whatcha can do about keeping us from gettin' fried, damnit! I'm gonna activate weapons!" Whirling away from her before she could make a furious comment, he leaped up and grabbed the sword from its resting spot on the wall, trying to forget how warm her shoulders had been under his hands. The pirate must have made another hit, because the ship jerked dramatically and a loud sizzle was heard. Kagome didn't even think or breath. In one second, she was standing on the deck, and in the other, she was in the pilots berth, madly pushing buttons and activating the manual controls. Quickly she managed to dampen the alert warning volume and brought up the battlefield screen.  
  
She couldn't see Inuyasha anymore; her world had become a screen of orange and red and green dots and flashing colors and trails that she had to avoid. That is, until she heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed, and a strange wooshing sound accompanying it. Half turning her head, she saw something amazing. Inuyasha was standing behind her, and some sort of field had come up around him with the same sort of moving lights and dots. His sword had transformed into a giant fang! With a snarl, he began to swing his sword, and the ship shuddered in response. The dots began to wink out rapidly. Yanking her eyes back to the screen she maneuvered deftly, avoiding more laser and missile fire. Wait, what was that? A strange field had formed outside the ship as well! It was the same as the field around Inuyasha...what was going on?!!  
  
"Jeezus, how many of them are out there?! FUCK! KAZE no KIZU!!" Whit that, he swung his sword in an incredible arc, and blasts of color spread out from it, contained inside his field, and then radiated out of the ship. Many of the dots just disintegrated. With a snarl of static, the pirates hailed them. "You can't win, bastards! Just give us what we want, the plans for the Shikon!! We'll make your death REAL painless if you do...." Inuyasha's only response was a snarl, and the battle began in earnest. "The FUCK you will, bastards! You make me SICK! Take THAT~!"  
  
Snarling, He swiped at them again, but a laser blast managed to get through his defense. Instead of hitting the ship, however, it sliced into him, piercing his stomach and hitting the bulkhead behind him. The attack began with renewed vigor, the pirate ships dodging and firing and eventually being disintegrated out of existence by Inuyasha's "weapons" attacks. Smearing his hand with his own blood, he slashed it in a vertical strike crying out, "SANKONTESSOU!!"  
  
Still, the fighting was taking its toll. Stabbed through the stomach, with numerous cuts and bruises on his arms and legs, Inuyasha was beginning to waver. It had been almost an hour, all told, and the pirates were still doggedly coming.  
  
Fearfully, Kagome exclaimed, "There's too many of them, Inuyasha!" He turned back to her, his golden eyes rimmed with red, his face outraged that she should question his abilities. "URUSEI! I SAID I'LL PROTECT YOU, DIDN'T I??!! Just Shuttup, alright!" Whirling, he turned around and raised his sword for the final time.  
  
"BAKUHRYUHAAA!!"  
  
The lights ceased to exist. The screen was empty. Stunned, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. He grinned faintly, a mockery of his usual cocky grin, and then slumped to the floor, unconscious and bleeding. The strain of the past weeks and his injuries had finally caught up to him and dealt a vicious blow.  
  
***  
  
None of which, Kagome was aware of. Frantically, she set the ship back in its original mode–hyperspace– and rushed to Inuyasha's side, delirious with worry. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! INUYASHA!! Ohmigod, what do I do?!" Turning to one of the consoles on the wall, she addressed the ship's A1 computer. "I need help moving him! Can you send me something?!" With a whoosh, the door opened and a series of robotic service units floated into the room and hovered above Inuyasha, forming a chain. Quickly their hover units floated him from the floor, and began moving out the door. Startled, Kagome followed.  
  
When the corridors diverged and the servos took the way to his room, Kagome spoke up. "HEY! He should go to the sickbay! He's INJURED!" In response, the A1 responded. "Captain's instructions are to convey him to his room to recover if injuries are sustained during combat, and danger to the ship no longer exists." Fuming, Kagome responded. "Well, at least let me take care of his injuries, would you?!" The A1 did not respond for a few seconds and then spoke. "Only Captain's Designated Mate is allowed entry privileges into his room. You have not been designated as such. Exception shall be made this once upon Captain's further definition at a later date. Permission to enter Captain's quarters granted." Rolling her eyes, Kagome followed Inuyasha into his room.  
  
She was startled at the size of it. Not only that, but it was a beautiful room. Hanging on one wall was a giant family portrait, probably made when Inuyasha was one or two, since he sat alertly on his mother's lap, his intelligent eyes staring directly at the viewer. To his left standing above the two was a tall white-haired man that could only be Inuyasha's father. The gleam of amusement and pride in the man's eyes was unmistakable, as was the regal way that he held himself. One hand rested on his wife's shoulder, and the other on his eldest son's. Sesshoumaru (albeit much younger and less cold looking) stood on the other side of Inuyasha and his mother, an almost wry expression on his still face. It was easy to see the dog-like characteristics of the three together, and the family resemblance as well.  
  
Strewn over the floor in one corner near a comfy chair was a collection of books, some piled, others open and marked with bookmarks, and others were located in a recessed (partly open) bookshelf in the wall. Resting on a small table beside the chair was a container of water and a pair of glasses. The other walls were covered with other pictures and paintings, and one was entirely taken up with a backlit stained glass representation of a giant demon dog, baying at the lonely moon. Hanging nearby was what could only be a picture of her, carefully drawn with ink on a large canvas, and then painted with lifelike realism. She barely had time to note this, however, before the servos had deposited Inuyasha upon a large king-sized bed covered with pillows.  
  
Indignant, she yelped, "Hey! He's bleeding! Be more careful!" The servos simply unattached themselves and shot out the door, while another entered and deposited a first aid kit, leaving in a similar manner. Growling under her breath, Kagome proceeded to patch Inuyasha up, bit by bit. She was actually startled to notice that some of his wounds already appeared to be healing, or had scabbed over. *Must be part of being half-youkai...But there's one thing that's weird. Why were his eyes all funny when he was fighting? I've never seen them change color like that...*  
  
Silently she reached out to touch his face gently, avoiding a bruise under his right eye and brushing aside a strand of his silky white hair. That was when his eyes snapped open and suddenly her wrist was gripped tightly in a claw-tipped hand. Glaring red eyes focused on her face, and she froze, rigid with surprize and worry and stuttered out. "In-Inuyasha? Wh-What's wrong with your eyes? Are you alright??"  
  
His eyes flashed and he snarled. "Goddamn it, Bitch NO I'm NOT alright!" Her mouth opened in fury and she reached out leaning over him and yanked his hand from her wrist. "INUYASHA! What the FUCK is wrong with you?! I was just trying to take care of you and you go all crazy on me!! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!? You haven't even given me the time of day since we left, and you avoid me and I– ! "  
  
Wrong move. Faster than any animal, she was abruptly flat on her back on the bed where he had lay with both his hands on her wrists holding them above her head, straddling her and simultaneously pinning her to the bed. Her breath was knocked out of her. Leaning closer to her so their lips almost touched, he glared into her eyes and snarled almost sensually. "THIS is why I'm avoiding you!!" With that, he ground the evidence of his erection hard against her pelvis.  
  
Kagome's mouth was frozen open in a rictus of total shock and amazement as he continued, his warm breath touching her lips. "I can't fucking SLEEP anymore, bitch! I can smell you everywhere, and it's driving me INSANE. And now I'll be able to smell you HERE too! I've been ready for you since the moment I pounced on you in the bridge the other day... I want a MATE, damnit, and I want YOU! Do you know how hard it is to control my Youkai instincts? HMMM???" Her mouth moved soundlessly, unprepared for him to suddenly leap up from the dead, as it were, and confront her. Her panic rose to her throat. What was she supposed to tell him?! She couldn't just admit that she loved him!! He wanted her, but Love! He hadn't said anything about love! Frightened out of her wits for him, for his injuries, she couldn't breathe, let alone answer him.  
  
He waited for her to speak, silently grinding against her, anguish and lust glowing in his oddly-colored eyes. Silently he sniffed her neck, and then leaned back, and spoke again, this time his voice ruthlessly cold. "But I can't have a mate who doesn't want me. Who is afraid of me...Any side of me. I may be a dog youkai, but I would kill myself first before doing something to my chosen mate like that. No dog would hurt its bitch like that. And so that's what I'm going to do— slowly: Kill myself. Because you couldn't care less about me, could you? And I'm just some sad little puppy who chose someone he couldn't have, aren't I?" With that, suddenly, he was off her, pulling her roughly upright and dragging her to the door. Pulling her around roughly, he kissed her. Harshly. Until she melted under his onslaught, and then rudely he shoved her out the open door, keying the door to close it.  
  
Once she was outside, he sagged against the wall. If he mated her, he might live. But she clearly didn't want him. Didn't find him attractive. Didn't care about him at all. His instincts were too strong. His youkai half would slowly kill itself if he kept denying himself her. His human half kept him from ravishing her right then and there on his bed, in HIS room. It wanted her to want him back just as strongly...to love him. Slowly the red faded from his eyes and his body grew completely limp. *Damnnit...* was his last thought before he lapsed into unconsciousness and sank down into the red haze that told him he was going to die. If not immediately, soon. His youkai blood could no longer sustain him and would soon overwhelm him.  
  
Kagome meanwhile stood stunned in the hallway, one hand holding her rubbery knees upright, the other brushing her lips where he had branded them with his kiss. Youkai chose their mates for life, and being mated was like being married. *He...wants to mate me....I...*  
  
Her mind was churning. *I...he...* Abruptly, the A1 interrupted her reverie. "Captain has collapsed. Please be advised that any extended length of time spent unconscious with extensive energies and youkai blood no longer functional will result in death. Ship advises Captain's Mate to prevent such an occurrence." The world had narrowed down into a tunnel with a strange ringing sound in Kagome's ears. *Death?! He wasn't kidding?* Frantically she clawed herself back from the oblivion offered. "Computer, please advise how the HELL I'm going to keep him alive?!!" The A1 quickly replied, sounding like a medical textbook.   
  
"Close bodily contact will usually suffice when the Youkai is healthy. Also, sharing of blood or other bodily fluids will suffice to give the injured a reason, as well as strength and time to recover. However, said youkai is not at this time healthy. More may be needed to revive him."  
  
Cheeks burning, Kagome made up her mind. *I..Love him. He...I, need him, and if that's what it takes, FINE!* Marching back to the door on legs that were now steady, she smacked the doorplate. "Open the DAMN door up RIGHTNOW!" There was no response from inside. Frantic, she pounded on it. "INUYASHA, OPEN UP!! NOW!!" Growing even more worried, she ordered the computer "Can you open the door? Please?!!" The door edged open slowly, to reveal a collapsed Inuyasha, his stomach bandage leaking blood and his head bowed. *Ohmigod, OMIGOD! He's barely breathing! It can't have been THAT hard for him to restrain himself, could it?!* With that she dragged him gingerly back to the bed.   
  
Since most of his clothes had been removed earlier when she was bandaging him, it wasn't hard to imagine what she needed to do. Angrily, she began yanking off her clothes, leaving her bra and panties on for some modesty. *Damn, I'm lying down next to the hottest ...INJURED... man I've ever met...and all I can think about is what he'd look like with all his clothes off ..INJURED, DAMNNIT!... and the bandages gone...Kagome, get your mind OUT of the gutter!!...He's INJURED, for CRISSSAKES!*  
  
Wrapping her arms around him, she tucked her head carefully into his shoulder and pressed her body against his, praying it would work– he would be ok. *Ohplease, let this work! I don't care if he ravages me...I'd let him! ...I just want him to live!* A few small tears traced their way down her face, and she moved even closer, twining her legs with his.  
  
It was the longest, most terrifying silence she had ever endured, and eventually she fell asleep, her eyes still leaking tears, waiting desperately for some small sign that the man she loved unconditionally was still alive.  
  
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Okay, I dunno if this chapter is as well written as the others, but here's the deal: I have midterms this week. So, I'm updating. No rants this week about updating more, okie? Cool.  
  
Oh, and the next chapter IS going to be a lemon. So, if you are NOT 18, For the LOVE OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH DO NOT READ IT!! Understand? Good, you've all been warned. Oh, and the chapter with Rin and Sess? Is going to be a LEMON too!  
  
=D  
  
Lanenkar 


	18. Chapter 17: An Inuyasha Sandwitch

Guys, I suck at lemons. Is there (I can't believe I'm actually asking this...) anyone out there that could help me out? PLEASE!! I've still got the ol' virgin card myself, so I wouldn't know how to, shall we say "go about it". I mean, reading lots of it in crappy romance novels and shit aside, I still haven't a clue what to do... How do I make it good? I want it to be good! It's my first one, damnit! (Err, written, I mean. Don't I wish!)  
  
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Inuyasha awoke to find himself pleasantly warm, with a soft body pressed...heck, WRAPPED... against him in an incredibly intimate fashion. It was...WAIT, no, correction: it was KAGOME'S body... His mind jammed at the thought. And she was crying? He could feel the tears on his shoulder. Why...What was she doing there? She didn't like him anyways...And, tears? The hell? He was dying one minute, and then he wakes up the next to find a naked Kagome lying next to him?!?  
  
This must be some weird sort of torture invented by his mind...because there was no way Kagome would be inside his room, half-naked next to him, trying to revive him. She'd been afraid of him, for the love of god! Silently he reached out to touch her, see if she was real (since obviously the rest of her body pressed against his was not sufficient proof). Her response was to move closer, murmuring, "Inuyasha...don't go..don't leave me!" and cling tighter. *Who could have told her that there was a way to revive me? How...did she get back into my room? The computer's only supposed to let my Mate in! And who the hell could convince her to come back? She doesn't even WANT me...*   
  
Frowning, he resolved to have a long talk with the A1...after he recovered, of course. *Well, I'll never get another opportunity like this. She may not love me the way I want her to, but...* Unconsciously, he ran a gentle claw down Kagome's exposed milky white back. Shivering, she moved again, practically crawling on top of him for warmth. "'s warm...love you, Inuyasha..."  
  
The breath left his chest. She loved him? She loved him! A surge of shock followed quickly by pleased possessiveness ran through him. Quickly, he turned on his side. Growling lightly, he pulled her against him, her breasts tight and full against his chest, her hips flat against his, and leaned closer to nip her ear to try to wake her up. *That better be the truth, Damnit! I don't think I could handle it if it were not...* "Mine." The rumble of satisfaction came from deep within his chest. Gently he salved the nip with his tongue as she shivered again, and whispered huskily in her ear. "And I'm yours...My Mate."  
  
Silently, he splayed one hand over her lower back, anchoring her in place, and wrapped the other gently around her torso. A pleased rumble started in his throat, causing both of their bodies to vibrate with its power. *Wake up, Kagome. We need to talk...and I need to know why you're here. If you say it's just what you'd do for any friend, I think I'll fuckin' cry or some shit. I...I love you...*  
  
And that was how Kagome woke up.  
  
***  
  
A golden set of eyes stared into hers from scant inches away, and her entire body was warm...wait, was that? It was! If anyone could think of a more compromising position (despite their respective underwear still being in place) Kagome was hard pressed to think of one. (Pun intended). And he was making some odd sort of rumbling noise— purring?! Kagome did a credible impression of a tomato.  
  
Blinking to restore her composure, she asked hesitantly at the same time as Inuyasha blurted out her name, "Inuyasha–?" "Kagome!!" He blushed then, and quickly asked, "Why did you come back?" There was an embarrassed silence followed by Kagome's nervous gulp. "You CAN'T die! Y- Y- I, um... Youcan'tdiebecauseInevertoldyouhowIfelt..."  
  
Another pause.  
  
Finally, he snarled impatiently. "How DO you feel then? I TOLD you how I felt. And I'm NOT about to let you do something out of charity, DAMNIT! I may love you, but I want the same thing back, not some stupid pity SHIT!! Ah-a–um, W-Wha, What are you DO-ing?!!" Kagome was practically breaking his ribs, she was holding on to him so hard. Startled, he heard her sniffle and smelled her tears as she clung to him, burying her head in his chest and mumbling. "Iloveyoutoo,ohmigod,so MUCH!"  
  
Slighly frantic at her tears and incomprehensible mumbling, he reached for her chin. "Kagome? Kag? Kag-chan? 'Gome? ...What's wrong? ...Why are you crying like that?!?!!" When she didn't reply, his brain shot into Hates-to-see-crying-girl-hyperdrive mode. "L-look, don't cry, ok? All I said was I didn't want your pity, allright?! It's no big deal..." Her head snapped up. "You just said you LOVE me!! I heard you!! That's a HUGE deal, OKAY!?! I'm HAPPY!!!"  
  
"I...uh, you are? Um. Oh. I knew that! Girls! KEH!" Kagome snorted in spite of herself and leaned up closer to Inuyasha's face, which was clearly trying to smirk in a superior way and at the same time not look too pleased. "I'm HAPPY about it because I love you too." His face froze, uncertain of how it should look, and Kagome looked into the deepest, most vulnerable golden eyes she had ever seen. And smiled brilliantly. "It's nice to know you love me too. Both sides of you, I think. If what I saw earlier was your youkai side... then this would be your human sensitive side, wouldn't it?" Their noses were almost touching. Inuyasha seemed unable to respond, mesmerized by the color of her eyes up close. "Ummm, yeah."  
  
Wickedly, she decided to have a little fun. Moving carefully, she trailed one hand down his spine while pressing her body a leeetle more provocatively against his. As he shivered, she spoke again. "I don't have any problem with you being half-youkai. I love you just the way you are. And I wouldn't mind a few kids..." The last thrown in to make sure he was paying attention and not just staring at her eyes. If possible, he went even more rigid with surprise, mouth opening in a little 'oh' as her hand settled possessively on his ass and squeezed. Blinking a couple times in confusion, he gave her an adorable puzzled puppy look. "Ummm, Kagome, did you just say you wanted...um, kids...and your hand is on my...um...my..."  
  
THIS time her smile was downright sultry. "Your ass? It's a nice ass. Firm. Lots of muscles. All mine to grab after this, I think. ...You DO want to have kids eventually, don't you?" The last question was stated wistfully, the longing evident in her voice.  
  
His mind was spinning and his eyes were set to pop out any second."You want to have PUPS with ME?!!" She had said it! And she didn't seem to mind that he was hanyou...and maybe she wanted–no, he'd have to be careful. She wouldn't want THAT, um, right away. Looking down, he noticed she was pulling a pouting face.  
  
"What happened to the 'I want to ravish you now' Inuyasha? Hmm?" Hesitantly he answered her. "I... didn't think you'd want to." he said lamely. "Want to? Of COURSE I do! The hottest man I've ever seen, and he thinks I don't WANT to...Silly baka! AND, he loves me as much as I love him...why are you hesitating?!!" Rolling her eyes, she let go of him and made to roll away and get up, reluctantly. "WAIT!!" Grabbing hold of her hip, he pulled her back toward him. "I um, just thought you might want to get married first or somethin'." Nervously, he looked away. "Keh, not that I'd care..."  
  
If he had known the magic words to ensure that he got laid right then and there, those were it! Kagome's whole face lit up, and she smiled at him. "Inuyasha, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. Besides, if you Mark me, it'll be the same thing as getting married anyways. We can have a ceremony any time. I love you. That's what's important to me."  
  
She was pulled into a kiss that was both fiery and gentle. When they both emerged minutes later, Kagome was gasping for breath.  
  
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This is really short, because the lemon starts here...Arrg! HEEEELP MEEEE!  
  
*grumbles and leans back, scratching head and staring at computer screen*  
  
DOH!!  
  
PS: send me an email if you wanna be my beta! I'll check, oh yes! 


	19. Chapter 18: When the Ice melts Grab a Li...

It's official: Y'all are geniouses. My sister is going to read my inu/kag lemon, and critique...though she won't enjoy it much. She's a Kag/sess fan...oh well! Hurray! Thanks SOOO much for the suggestions, guys! (can I get a few more reviews?)  
  
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The ride back to Sesshoumaru's flagship was a very productive one; Rin sent out numerous messages to any contact she could think of. Sesshoumaru sent out one. And wouldn't allow anyone to see what it was. Otherwise, Sesshoumaru spent his time brooding over the helm and furtively watching Rin– who was completely engrossed with the communications station. Jaken wisely stayed out of sight, since every time he tried to say something, Sesshoumaru would give him a murderous glare. Not even the puny alien was stupid enough to risk enraging him.  
  
Well, perhaps enraged wasn't the right word. Extremely frustrated, or even hot and bothered would be more accurate. Nursing an enormous [sex drive] would be even closer. Finally he spoke, making a giant effort to sound as he normally did –emotionless– despite the desires roiling within him. "Rin. We will have our usual tea in my quarters an hour after we arrive. You will attend. We have several matters to discuss."  
  
Startled, she looked up to meet his intense golden stare. "Discuss??! ...Ummm, okay." He looked away quickly, cursing himself. *Damn. I'm hard, and all I did was look at her! Quick, idiot, say something else~!* "Be sure you are properly dressed." With that he turned back to the controls, his desires temporarily assuaged by fantasies of her arriving in his quarters...barely clothed. (L: Hey, he's a guy. Guys think that way!) While his conscience (yes, he has one) shouted at him. *Damnit, I sounded like a total prick!! Why couldn't I have thought of anything else to say?!!*  
  
***  
  
As soon as the door seals were secure and the shuttle was docked, Sesshoumaru was on his feet. "Jaken." "Hai, milord?" "Take care of the shuttle for me." With that, he headed out the door with all the speed that was possible for a dignified retreat. *Shit! I can smell her, and it's making me NUTS!*  
  
Walking rapidly, he made it to his quarters. A VERY cold shower and lots of scrubbing, primping, and mirror-examination later, he was ready. At least, as ready as he could be with all his clothes and stuff. His brain and heart were different matters. Frustrated, he looked at the clock. *Half an hour to go. Damnit, why couldn't I have just had tea with her right AWAY....arrrg, I'm an IDIOT.*  
  
  
  
Smacking his door panel, he strode out into the hallway, pacing up and down. In his absorbed frustration, he almost ran smack dab into one of his father's oldest retainers. "Sesshoumaru-san? Are you alright?" Blinking a little disorientedly, he realized that the person who had addressed him was one of his generals, Taido. "Fine...Fine." He managed before turning toward his door, and then hesitating, two steps away from the man and a step away from his quarters. He turned as though pulled by a rope, unable to resist asking. "Taido-san. Has...Rin...ever mentioned her..feelings towards me?" His expression was pained for a brief second, allowing the older man to see the emotion that lurked beneath the cold exterior of the lord.  
  
Startled, since the lord had not had an expression since his parents died, Taido responded. "Of course, milord. She speaks of you frequently. It is my opinion that she has great regard for you, Sesshoumaru-san." Sesshoumaru's face darkened as he muttered, "I don't WANT her regard...I want..." Looking upward swiftly, he interrupted himself. "What has she said of me?" His eyes swore that any lies would result in instant death. Nervously, Taido stuttered out, "J-just that she d-doesn't want to leave. Sh-she wants to stay here with yo-us!" Nervously he backed away. "Sh-she stares into space a lot, and looks at you all the time when you're around...and then there's the time she scooped goo all over you, milord... she seemed disappointed that you didn't kiss her. At least, Ahn said that she said so..."   
  
Sesshoumaru frowned, his lips moving slightly downward. *How come I never see her looking at me?!* He didn't realize he had said it out loud until Taido responded, bowing low. "Because she avoids looking when you look at her, lord." With that, he slowly backed away. "Forgive, lord. I have duties I must tend to..." Quickly, he strode out of sight, casting one last bemused glance at his master, who was staring into space contemplating his words like some sort of lovesick idiot.  
  
Blinking, Sesshoumaru examined his timepiece as sheer panic made his eyes widen momentarily. *Five minutes! I have to get the tea ready!!* With that, he entered his quarters, the door swooshing shut behind him.  
  
***  
  
Rin followed Sesshoumaru's hasty exit with one of her own, ignoring the grumbling of Jaken. Once out of sight of the shuttle bay, she raced toward her room, smacking the opening panel before rushing inside and collapsing in front of a comm unit and ordering it to get in contact with Genka-san! "Genka-san? I need your help!!! I just got back, and Sesshoumaru wants to have tea with me within an HOUR!!" The quartermaster looked startled. "Ahh, right! Quick, take a shower, I'll be there with all the stuff you need as soon as you get out...five minutes, max! Hurry! Oh, and put perfume in these places..." followed by a list of several intimate spots, prompting her to credibly imitate a red pepper: hot, and red! With that, he terminated the signal.  
  
He was as good as his word. When she emerged from the shower, minutes later, he was standing impatiently out side, holding out several strange lacy garments and then finally kimono for her to put on–with remarkable lack of regard for her modesty. "Hurry! Hurry! You've got no time to be silly! Eeesh, people would think you've never worn lingerie before!!" He hovered around her, tying her obi, poking her hair, applying makeup, grumbling under his breath. "Idiot... mumble mumble...lingerie makes you feel sexy….growl, mumble… too little time, baka! Ups, aha! There...a little more.... Another bobby pin THERE...and Viola! Hmmm, blue or red, or purple! Aha-hA, green!"  
  
Nervous, Rin sat trying not to wrinkle her robes. As he poked at her hair, she asked nervously, "Genka-san, do you think Sesshoumaru...likes me?" He simply snorted. "Likes!?! That idiot is practically incapable of thinking when you're around. Talk about a sex drive! If only I could find a man like that....*sigh* You know, that one time he took you to the enviro-dome garden on level six, and you put a flower in his hair? And you told him not to take it out? Well, he left it in the ENTIRE day, and wouldn't let anyone say anything. I swear, the man has the scariest glare EVER. And you know, he's acquired a funny habit of staring into space and smiling like some sort of sap...just like the old lord did about his lady. Pretty funny, actually. The Ice Lord has melted! And we were all so certain that he'd never be able to– ever! You're so lucky, hun. My best advice would be to grab onto him and don't let go! You don't meet a man like him every lightyear." Pausing, he continued. "Hes a good man. He may be dangerous, and ruthless sometimes, but he's honest, honorable, and true to a fault. I don't think anyone could do better. And he'll take care of you, if you really want him that way..."  
  
"But..." "No, no arguments! Sit still! Almost done. There! Now, look at me....HA! Perfect! Now, off you go. You've got ten minutes to get there... Hurry!" Rin's eyes widened frantically, and she headed out the door in a swirl of moving fabric. "...Good thing I pinned her hair securely." Genka muttered. A startled Ah and Uhn looked in at him in passing as he stood at the door of Kagome's quarters, one hand still poised with a makeup brush upraised, a tear in his eye watching her rush off. "My baby all grown up, and off to face the man of her dreams!!" (L: Ha ha, mulan reference!)  
  
A slow smile spread across the twin's faces. "Shall we tell the rest of the crew?" Genka snorted. "I don't see how you could restrain yourselves from doing so. Humpf!"  
  
***  
  
Everyone Rin saw on her run to Sesshoumaru's chambers smiled at her, or waved, or gave her a thumbs up. If she weren't so worried about being late, she would have been a little confused? What was so different about THIS tea than any other? Besides the fact that it was formal, there couldn't possibly be a difference, could there?  
  
Oh, how little did she know.  
  
She made it just in time, with seconds to spare. Reaching up to knock politely before entering, she was startled when the door opened, and the immaculate (as usual) Sesshoumaru opened the door. Bowing, she spoke nervously. "Sesshoumaru-sama, I am sorry if I am late... Am I properly dressed?" His eyes were fixed on her with a burning golden intensity that she hadn't seen before, and she ducked her head shyly. "No...Yes, Rin. It is fine. Enter please."   
  
She did so silently, astonished when he moved only partially out of the way, forcing her to brush by him carefully as his eyes burned into the back of her pale and delicate neck,*Will she touch me? Does she still fear me?* blushing at the warmth of his body's proximity to hers and keeping her eyes downcast. *He's so close... I could reach out and touch him...* Silent and solemn as ever, except for the blazing pools of his eyes, *She's…beautiful.* Sesshoumaru silently led her through the formal tea ceremony again. *I'm so nervous….does he like me like this? He hasn't said anything… and he keeps staring…*  
  
His brain was churning madly as well, the blood and adrenalin pumping through his veins. *How do I ask her? What if she refuses? God, she's lovely, blushing like that. But I want to see her eyes. Why won't she look at me? …Oh, Kami-sama, RIN!* He groaned mentally as she looked up briefly, and flushed, her eyes darting downward too fast for him to make eye contact. Sexual desire roared in his loins and belly, but he controlled himself-- barely.  
  
Finally, when they were almost finished, she blurted out in nervousness, "Sesshoumaru-Sa.." But he interrupted her. "Rin." Blinking, she looked up for the first time since they had begun. "Hai?" "My name is Sesshoumaru." "Hai! I know! But Sesshoumaru-Sa--!" She didn't get a chance to finish the honorific that time, since he had leaned forward and sealed her lips with his.  
  
Pulling away only a fraction, he stared into her eyes. "Ses-shou-mar-u. Onegai." Her heart was thumping madly. A sudden satisfied look spread across his face, and he leaned back to a proper distance once again. *HA!! Take that, convention! I'm not turning into my father at all!* Her brain had ceased to function. Weakly, she tried to argue. "But, but… You-- I…um." "I want you to call me Sesshoumaru, Rin. Will you not consider it?"  
  
There was a pregnant pause as she stared at her hands, a little frightened. "Bu-but, aren't you the captain, and you said, I was to call you….are we friends? I mean…" Silently, she dropped her eyes again to her lap where her hands were frantically twisting in her lap.  
  
"Rin. I do not want to be your friend."  
  
Horrified, she looked up, tears in her eyes. The expression on Sesshoumaru's face stopped whatever she might have done after his statement. Pain. Longing. Agony. "Please, Rin, can't we be….more?" The last was said in a near whisper, longing in his voice. His eyes were tortured, pleading. Never before had she seen such a depth of emotion on that face that all said was never made to show it. It was as if the wall had broken, and the man behind had reached out through all his lonely suffering.  
  
Rin's mouth moved, though nothing came out. After a few seconds, she managed to repeat stupidly, "M-more?" Reaching out, he captured her hand. "More. Will…will you consent to be my Mate?" He couldn't think of a romantic way to put what he desperately wanted in his heart of hearts. *I want YOU. Say yes, onegai?* She squeezed his hand, unable to speak.Tears began coursing down her face. "Rin? RIN? What's wrong?" Silently, he began to withdraw, but when she practically leaped into his arms, tackling him, he froze.  
  
Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she whispered desperately. "Yes…" His cold mask had descended again, but the joy in his eyes was unmistakable--like the chinks that let light into a dark room through an old brick wall. "You…you will?" Pulling back, she nodded happily. "I love you. Did you think I would say no?!" Now she knew the secret: all his emotions were writ clear in his eyes, and sometimes in the quirk of his lips! The Great Sesshoumaru, fearsome pirate and brother, was struck speechless, his mouth opening and nothing coming out.   
  
Giggling, she rescued him by planting a chaste kiss on his lips that with his insistence quickly became something more than just a final confession of love between two lovers.  
  
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Eeg! There it is…And now for the lemony goodness….Huzzah! I'm so excited….I've written the kag/Inu lemon, but I have to write this one, and then I'll post THAT one...Urg, and I'll write it when I'm in my room alone. I'd DIE if someone read it over my shoulder in the Pic lab!!(While I'm doing my programming HW...or avoiding doing it...) 


	20. Chapters 19 and 20!

OKAY everyone. I posted both lemon chapters, but upon re-reading the requirements for the whole submission/fanfiction thing, I figured that I'd better be safe rather than sorry. Ie: I'd rather post the lemons somewhere else rather than have my ENTIRE account removed from Fanfiction.net.  
  
SOOOO, I posted everything at ADULTFANFICTION.NET under the same Pen name: Lanenkar. IFFF you are old enough or mature enough to go read them there, do so. Sorry, but I'm not going to even try to write a NON lemon ending. Some things just have a natural progression, in my opinon. And that was the natural progression that I saw my story taking. It isn't the END of "the space between stars" for sure, but I've reached a temporary "stopping point" until I write another section of the story. I also really need to work on my other oft-neglected stories. And so, if you still want to read, go here:  
  
http://adultfan.nexcess.net/aff/authors.php?no=9176  
  
...Read away, and then come back and review me here...or there!! Thank you so much, minna-sama, for reading and reviewing me! Your support helps a lot in the writing process!  
  
Cheerfully yours,  
  
Lanenkar 


	21. Chapter 21

_**A Few Notes on CH. 21**_

Hello Friends and Readers!

I apologise for the slight technical difficulties in finding the last chapter of this story. It seems that adult fan fiction net revamped their site, and my profile has been buggered up in the meantime.

So, you say? Well, if I post the last chapter up on FF . net, it would up the story rating to NC-17. BIG TIME. So, I'm really debating putting it up. Plus, I have to go and find it out of my archives.

If you WOULD like the story finale (though I'm considering adding more, this story is so fun!) please PM me. I'll be happy to send it to you...

Sorry All!  
~Lanenkar


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